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WPN, May 2022
The Creative Book Sales Issue
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From Kathleen Kaiser, President
WPN hosted a large 20' x 20' booth at the LA Times Festival of Books. The weather was great, people plentiful, though not as tightly packed as before Covid. Almost every author said how odd it was to be around this many people again, to engage with and talk. I felt the same way. Over two years of no daily interaction with people have hit us, especially those who sit at home and write.
My suggestion: sign up to be at any local book expo, get out there and start talking about your book again, or release your new book! Stop by, don't call your local bookstore, ask if they are beginning book signings again, and request that your book be included.
Take precautions and use care if things flare up again. But, the interfacing with book lovers is so good for our souls. Try it!
PS: There are two publishers in Bits and Pieces will calls for submissions. Check them out and see if your book fits their criteria.
Kathleen
Kathleen@kathleenkaiser.com
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Some of the authors in the WPN booth this year at the LA Times Festival of Books |
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From Sandra Murphy, Editor
I’ve had a couple of my short stories turned into podcasts, but this is the first time I’ve been interviewed for one. Birgit Walker from People with Passion for Pets and I talked about how Happiness Is Listening to Your Dog Snore came about. Gathering quotes should be easy enough—just read memes and t-shirts. The catch is, they have to be in the public domain or you risk violating copyrights. The interview went well. I didn’t sound like a doofus, although I did sound like I had a cold. Who knows? Maybe I sound that way all the time. If so, don’t tell me. Here’s the link: https://tinyurl.com/2p8zrcvc. Take a listen. If you know pets, work with a rescue, shelter, or sanctuary, and think you might be a good fit for an interview, drop me a line, and I’ll make the introductions.
It never crossed my mind that other countries have Mother’s Day and Father’s Day on different dates than here. It’s just not something I ever thought about. Check out Jay Hartman’s column this month, where he explains authors are missing opportunities by not knowing this kind of thing.
Spring is a time of renewal. Let’s hope 2022 proceeds with that in mind. We’re in the mood for improvement, but have to keep in mind that it starts with us.
Sandy, Editor, editor@writersandpublishersnetwork.com
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Ask the Book Doctor: Single Quotation Marks by Bobbie Christmas
Q: Do single quotation marks indicate irony? Do they indicate thoughts? When should I use single quotation marks?
A: Use great caution when using single quotation marks. Many writers use them incorrectly, perhaps because their use in American English differs from the British. In American English single quotation marks should be used only inside double quotation marks, with the exception of headlines. Following is information on single and double quotation marks from my book doctor’s desk reference book titled Purge Your Prose of Problems. READ MORE…
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Bobbie Christmas is a book editor, author of Write In Style: How to Use Your Computer to Improve Your Writing, and owner of Zebra Communications. She will answer your questions too. Send them to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com or BZebra@aol.com. Read Bobbie’s Zebra Communications blog at https://www.zebraeditor.com/blog/.
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The Publishers Perspective by Jay Hartman
As we start experiencing flowers, heat waves, and allergies, there’s no doubt that Spring is upon us (well, in most parts of the U.S.). And the spring months start leading us into the time period my former Waldenbooks staff and I would refer to as SOS, or the Season of Sexism.
When you work for a major bookstore chain, there doesn’t tend to be a whole lot of thinking at the top of the management food chain for marketing Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Mother’s Day promotions are romance, cookbooks and gardening. Father’s Day books are nonfiction sports books (heavy emphasis on golf), war fiction (heavy emphasis on Tom Clancy) and business titles (heavy emphasis on being the best CEO you can be and closing sales). Year after year we’d see the same promotions come down the pike, and we always said the same thing…doesn’t anybody realize people do read other things?
The end of the Season of Sexism begins with you. READ MORE…
Looking to get The Publisher Perspective? Send your questions to jhartman@untreedreads.com with TPP in your subject line. If your question is used, we’ll send you a free ebook from Untreed Reads. Jay A. Hartman, editor-in-chief at Untreed Reads Publishing, founded Untreed Reads to promote ebooks with an emphasis on independent authors and publishers. He’s written about the ebook industry for fifteen years and previously served as content editor for KnowBetter.com, one of the internet’s oldest sites reporting on ebooks and epublishing.
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Five Secrets to Self-Publishing a Book and Generating More Sales by Penny Sansevieri
Let me start by saying that when it comes to self-publishing a book and getting readers to buy it, there is no fancy marketing that will convince readers to buy something that isn’t right for them or isn’t appealing. In the end, it’s up to your book to make the sale.
Too many authors sabotage their success and waste valuable time by not understanding the difference between marketing and sales, so let me present an analogy.
Book marketing is about creating awareness with the right people, like sending potential buyers to an open house. But in the end, the book–or in this case–the house, makes the final sale. READ MORE…
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Penny C. Sansevieri, founder and CEO of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a bestselling author and internationally recognized book-marketing and media-relations expert. She is an adjunct professor teaching self-publishing for NYU. Her company is a leader in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most innovative Amazon Optimization programs as well as social media/internet book-marketing campaigns. She is the author of 18 books. Look for her recent book, From Book to Bestseller. To learn more about Penny’s books or her promotional services, visit www.amarketingexpert.com.
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Author Takeovers by Marilyn Levinson aka Allison Brook
(reprinted with permission, first appeared in the Writers Who Kill blog.)
We authors know the importance of getting the word out about our latest book…about all of our books, in fact. We've become savvy at writing blogs, having a presence in social media, participating in Zoom panels. We create newsletters, appear at book fairs and conferences, bookstores, and any venue that will host us. We create visuals, set up contests, give away swag. Promotion can be exhausting. Despite all the promoting we do, it often leaves us wondering if we've promoted enough.
More than one publicity maven advises us to promote via a method that we enjoy. Following that recommendation, I'm happy to share one of my favorite means of promotion: Author Takeovers. READ MORE…
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Marilyn Levinson writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and books for young readers. Her novels have received many accolades. As Allison Brook she writes the Haunted Library mystery series. Death Overdue, the first in the series, was an Agatha nominee for Best Contemporary Novel. Look for book seven in the series, coming soon.
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May 19 Webinar |
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Book Marketing Part Two—Finding your audience, with Kathleen Kaiser, book marketer and president of WPN. |
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This session of Book Marketing 101 will focus on where to find
readers, the tools and sites to use for engagement to attract readers,
and online ways to find new ones. In addition, this segment helps the
new self-published author to maximize their exposure.
There are
many tools to be employed to get the best results. An overlooked golden
goose is Amazon’s Author Central which will explore during the session.
If used correctly, it’s a gold mine, yet according to Amazon, less than
1% of authors use it. Engage correctly, and you are already 99% more
visible than other books on the site.
Know your audience, place your book in front of them, and find readers. This is how you do it.
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The Shadow of Memory is available on May 10.
The Worst Writing Advice I've Ever Gotten by Connie Berry
(reprinted with permission, first appeared in Writers Who Kill blog.)
Aspiring authors usually seek advice from those who have achieved
success. Ten years ago my big question was, “What do I need to fix? JUST
TELL ME, AND I’LL DO IT!” Sorry—I was shouting there. The point is, I
was open to advice. Too open. Since then, I’ve become a bit more
discerning. All advice isn’t good advice. Here are five examples of
terrible advice (or potentially terrible advice) new writers often
receive:
Just Write—Your Editor Will Correct Your Mistakes
Two things are wrong here. First, unless you’re the next Shakespeare
(or the next Lee Child, who claims to write only one draft), you will
need to learn a thing or two. Like all skills, novel-writing has a
rather steep learning curve. Give yourself time. READ MORE…
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Connie Berry’s dream of becoming an archaeologist ended when she
learned there was more to it than discovering the tombs of lost
pharaohs. Instead, she created the Kate Hamilton Mystery series, set in
the U.K. and featuring an American antiques dealer with a gift for
solving crimes. Her debut mystery, A Dream of Death, won the
IPPY Gold Medal for Mystery and was a finalist for the Silver Falchion
and Agatha awards. She lives in Ohio with her husband and adorable
puppy, Emmie.
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Bits and Pieces–News You Might Have Missed |
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Curious Corvid Publishing, a WPN member, will be accepting submissions from May 1 through May 7 for finished novels and poetry books. We are looking for dark/gothic literature in fantasy, sci fi, dystopian, apocalyptic, mental health, and trauma recovery themes and genres. We specialize in vulnerable works that highlight the darkness in life and the subsequent healing and restoration that can be found afterward. You can find all of our submission guidelines on our website! https://www.curiouscorvidpubli...
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Call for submissions: Stories Rule Press (SRP) is now seeking submissions for Christmas Romance Digest 2022: Love In Other Lands, our portal fantasy romance anthology to be published on October 27, 2022.
Deadline:
August 14, 2022
Length: 7,500 to 10,000 words (novelette length)
Payment:
Revenue share
For details of what they want and don’t want, go to:
https://storiesrulepress.com/christmas-romance-digest-2022-call-for-submissions/
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We Need Diverse Books Offers Banned Book Grants to Educators
Grants of $2,000 each will be given to teachers and librarians to fund author school visits and field trips. For all the details, go to https://tinyurl.com/4rybkhzz.
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Authors Guild Launches a Banned Book Club
The Authors Guild has teamed with the book club app Fable to launch the virtual Banned Books Club. https://tinyurl.com/yzrdrtpr
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EveryLibrary, PEN America Sound Alarm Over New Kentucky Library Law
SB165 will empower local politicians to “appoint whomever they want to library boards," as well as potentially "block major library spending.” The bill was vetoed by the governor but has been revised and gained the number of votes needed to override the veto, and it will go into effect in January 2023. https://tinyurl.com/mwfa2sak
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Afropunk Goes Graphic Memoir: 'PW' Talks with James Spooner
https://tinyurl.com/46pe593k
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Book Sales in the U.S. Are Stronger Than Ever
Last year, the annual print volume reached 826.6 million units, a 9% gain over the previous year, and the first time to top 800 million.
https://tinyurl.com/2p92b9r8
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25 Years of Bestselling Authors and Books – Harry Potter and 50 Shades top the list
https://tinyurl.com/ywewx6j9
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Print Book Sales Saw an Easter Week Bounce of 16% https://tinyurl.com/mrxazmhp
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How kids can help the world and each other
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