Guest Post How to Market a New Release

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2015

Misty Beller has broken records selling as many as 10,000 books a month of her first book. She is a member of our ACFW-SC Chapter and we are so proud of her. Here are her secrets summarized.-Elva Cobb Martin, Pres. ACFW-SC Chapter

How to Market a New Release

By Misty M Beller @MistyMBeller

One of the questions I receive most often is from authors is, 

"How do I promote my new book?" 

Whether it be your debut release or book #5 (or #105) 

marketing a new release can often be daunting. 

But it doesn't have to be!

Through the months of June, July, and August, I shared all

 the different marketing options available to authors. And there 

are a lot of opportunities! But the list can be intimidating, so 

let me break it down into critical steps for a new release. 


This list is accurate for either indie or traditionally published books

 (although indie authors certainly have a few more steps related to                                  book production). 

Let's get started!

1. Make sure your book is posted on your website, Goodreads, your Amazon Author Central page, and all your social media profiles. In other words, if people are looking for info about the book, make sure they can find it!
2. Choose whether you want to do a blog tour. If yes,                                           get started and enjoy the ride! For more info on the steps                                           and best practices, see this post. 
3. Line up your influencers and early reviewers.                                                       One of the most helpful tools to gain traction with book                                                sales, is to help your book garner reviews early. I've                                                  shared a lot of strategies to gain reviews here.
4. Share the new release to your newsletter list, blog and                                                 
   
   
   social media channels. In other words, get the word out to                                    your people! Get excited and your enthusiasm will be infectious!
5. Schedule paid advertising. This is the step many authors                                       try to skip,but I've very rarely seen a book take off without some                        amount of paid advertising. There are so many choices out there,                              it's easy to waste money. My go-to sites are                                                           ereadernewstoday.com and Facebook Ads. (You may remember,                                I shared the Facebook ad process in detail here.) 

So that's it! Not so hard, is it? 

After you've accomplished these five, you can step back and send 

up a prayer of thanksgiving. Then assess whether you're happy with                                   the book's sales (and rankings) and develop your marketing strategy 

moving forward. 

Now it's your turn! Do you see a critical step I've missed? 

Anything additional on your book release task list? Let's hear

 your thoughts!

Misty M. Beller writes Christian historical romance, 

and is author of the bestselling novels The Lady                     and the Mountain Man and The Lady and the                  Mountain Doctor.

Misty was raised on a farm in South Carolina, so her

 Southern roots run deep. About eleven years ago, 

she made a career change from farm life into                             the business world, where she worked as a                                Senior Manager and Director of Process &                                                                           Training. She's now loving the life 

                                             of a full-time writer, wife, and mother.

Guest Post 12 Questions to Ask a Book Cover Designer

12 Questions to Ask When Hiring a Book Cover Designer

OCTOBER 8, 2015 by DIANA URBAN

Your book’s cover provides a reader with a first impression of your work, and despite all advice to the contrary, people will judge your book by its cover. Our testing has shown that a cover alone can account for a 30% difference in clicks on a BookBub listing, and other sources have reported similar results.

Since your cover design is such a huge factor in a book’s success, it’s worth the cost to hire a seasoned professional to create or redesign the cover. While you might have an ambitious do-it-yourself or in-house approach, a polished cover from a professional designer can make a book much more appealing to readers scrolling through retailer sites or BookBub’s daily deals email.

Before you commit to a cover designer, you should know what questions to ask him or her first. With so much at stake, you want to be sure you’re hiring the right person for the job! Remember, not every designer works the same way, but it’s important to find someone whose expertise and working style best fit you and your books. Here are some questions both independent authors and publishers should ask a potential cover designer and why they matter:

1. What covers have you designed in my genre?

It’s important to get a sense of the designer’s track record in your specific sub-genre. Once you’veidentified a target market for your book, you may want to hire a cover designer who has experience with that genre. This way, they’ll know what styles are trending and perform well, what tone readers expect, and what images and fonts resonate best with your audience.

If they don’t have experience in your sub-genre, they should be willing to do research and become familiar with trending tropes in your genre so they know how to convey your book’s premise and make your book stand out. So make sure they have a thorough process for researching and brainstorming concept art before getting too far into the design work.

2. What is your process for developing a concept for a design?

Get an idea for your potential designer’s approach to brainstorming concepts for their cover designs. Here are some ways they might dive into the research process:

• Consider your creative brief. Whether you provide a written creative brief or discuss your requirements over the phone, be sure they take your ideas and suggestions seriously. While they are the design experts and will likely have other ideas in mind, you’re most familiar with the content of your book, so they should at least be willing to listen to what you have in mind.
• Research your genre. How do they research what covers are successful in your genre? If they take a thorough approach, they should look through retailer site sub-genres and see what covers are selling well in your area. For example, if you write dystopian science fiction and they only suggest browsing through other sci-fi covers to see what’s trending, you might want to dig deeper here and make sure they know to look at dystopian sci-fi covers specifically.
• Access image libraries. An experienced designer should have access to image libraries such as Shutterstock, Getty Images, or iStockPhoto. This will give them a wide selection of images to get inspiration from or choose from if they’re not doing custom photography or artwork for your cover.

3. Are you available to create custom images for which I’d have sole rights?

Choosing from image libraries is a cost-effective way to get a high-quality image for your cover, but it means you wouldn’t have sole rights to that image. While rare, it’s possible to find the same image used on other books or marketing collateral out there. If this isn’t something you want to risk, you may want to commission your designer for a photoshoot or to create custom artwork for you. Keep in mind that this can significantly increase the price of your cover design. Also, not all cover designers offer these services, so if it’s important to you, you should discuss this up front.

4. Can I see your complete portfolio?

This question might seem obvious, but in your enthusiasm to publish your book, you might be tempted to rush into an agreement with the first designer one of your friends refers you to. Don’t do this. Make sure you have the chance to review the designer’s work so you can see if you even like the designs they’ve created before.

5. What are your fees and payment structure?

Some cover designers list their pricing packages on their websites. Others provide custom quotes based on exact specifications.

Some designers require a deposit prior to beginning any research or design work to make sure you are committed and will be good for the money — they’ll be spending their valuable time working on your project, so this is to be expected, especially for more expensive designers. The deposit can be anything from 20% – 50% of the overall quote. Whatever their payment structure, be sure it’s something you’re comfortable with toward the beginning of your conversation.

6. Do you offer a no-risk money back guarantee?

Some cover designers are of such a high caliber that they’re confident enough in their work to offer a 100% money-back guarantee in case you’re not satisfied with the final product. Not all designers offer this, but you may personally want to choose someone who does.

7. What will the design process look like?

Professional designers will have an effective process they follow for each of their clients. It may look something like this (though every designer may have a different process):

Step #1: Schedule an initial consultation call. The designer will ask about your genre, what your book is about, and get some ideas from you regarding what you hope the cover will look like. You should also discuss things like timeline and communication expectations, and make sure the designer’s working style seems like a good fit for you.

Step #2: Discuss payment. The designer will deliver a quote based on what you’ve discussed, or finalize the pricing based on the pre-defined design package you choose.

Step #3: First concept round. The designer will send you some mock-ups of what they’re thinking the cover will look like. These usually won’t be polished, since they’ll want your feedback before putting on the finishing touches. Some designers will even provide you with multiple first-concept covers, and you can choose which one you’d like them to run with.

For example, designer Simon Avery creates a range of concept covers:

While not every book designer does this, this is great for authors who are interested in A/B testing different cover designs or asking their existing audience which design they prefer before the designer moves forward with the final design.

Step #4: Final concept round. The designer will send you a final version of the front cover, back cover, spine, and any other elements you discussed in your consulting call. Some designers also offer a final fine-tuning round to make sure you’re happy with the final cover.

Since you’re paying for your cover design, you should be happy with the final result. While it is perfectly reasonable for a designer to set a limit on the amount of rounds of revision you go through, you want to be sure your designer will be flexible in terms of accepting your feedback and working it into the revisions.

8. How will you deliver the final product?

At the very least, your cover designer should send you a high-resolution JPEG and/or PDF file of your final design — the front cover, the back cover, and the spine (unless you’re only hiring them for the ebook front cover).

But this isn’t enough for some authors. If you want to be able to make tweaks to your own cover in the future (for example, if you’re not 100% set on the title), make sure you also ask for the Photoshop or InDesign file — depending on the program the designer will be using. Not all designers are comfortable providing these files, but if it’s important to you, discuss this ahead of time.

9. What is your average turnaround time?

If you have a tight deadline to stick to for sending out advanced reader copies, locking in a pre-order, or a preset publication date, you should make sure the designer you’re considering has the bandwidth to complete your project well before your own deadline.

At the same time, you want to make sure the designer puts enough time into your project to deliver high-quality output. If they’re turning around covers in a day or two, maybe they’re not putting the necessary effort into making your book stand out in its genre.

10. Will you also be available for additional projects?

If you want the design of all of your marketing elements to be consistent, make sure up front that your designer will be available for follow-up work. Some things you may want design help with in the future may include:

• Covers for a sequel or subsequent series books
• Box set 3D covers
• Audiobook covers
• Online display ads
• Bookmarks
• Website logos
• Twitter header photos
• Facebook cover photos

11. What is your communication style?

Just like if you’re working with any other publishing professional (an agent, an editor, etc.), it’s important to set your communication expectations up front. While it may not be realistic to expect anyone to respond to your email within five minutes, 48-hour response times is a reasonable request to make. You might also want your designer to be proactive in letting you know if they will be unavailable for an extended period of time, whether for vacation, a conference, etc. These are all things you should talk about up front so there aren’t panicked moments or resentment along the way.

12. Do you have any references?

Even if the designer has a testimonials page on his or her website, it’s a good idea to speak to or exchange emails with one or two of the designer’s past clients. This will give you a better idea for what to expect from the working relationship (as you can review the designer’s portfolio for yourself).

It can be well worth the additional cost of hiring a professional designer to create a custom design for your book, especially if you want your book to stand out in its genre or are trying to get your book selected for a BookBub Featured Deal. With the additional appeal it will lend to your book, the design could end up paying for itself in short order!

Do you have any cover designers you’d recommend? Give them a shout-out in the comments below!

Want to share this post? Here are ready-made tweets:

Click to tweet: 12 Questions to Ask When Hiring a Book Cover Designer – http://bit.ly/1ZbNIDh by @DianaUrban at @BookBubPartners #pubtip #publishing

Click to tweet: #Authors: Cover design is a huge factor in your book’s success,  so here are 12 Qs to ask when hiring a designer – http://bit.ly/1ZbNIDh

About Diana Urban

Diana Urban is the Industry Marketing Manager at BookBub, and was previously the Head of Conversion Marketing at HubSpot. She's an expert in inbound marketing, content marketing, and lead generation. Diana is also the author of two Young Adult thrillers, and is writing her third novel. Follow her on Twitter at @DianaUrban.

How to Write a Query Letter for a Novel - Part 2

Hello! Glad you stopped by.

In Part 1 of How to Write a Query Letter for a Novel, we gave you an example of a query letter I wrote recently that received a quick reply and request for a full manuscript (ms). We promised in Part 2 to go over the parts of the query letter for a novel to an agent or editor. It's all about getting their attention. But you don't want to give them a headache or get one yourself!

To begin with, fiction editors and agents are busy people.They like a quick view to get hold of your idea to see if it can be a fit for them. Most of them require a query to be only one page, so you have to hook them with something brief. Brief is beautiful to busy people. Here's how I do it:

Subject Line: (I like to put the agent or editor’s name I am addressing in the subject line even though the queries are often sent to a generic email address)

Romance Query to Agent _________”

(If I’ve met them at a writers’ conference I’ll start with)

Dear ____. It was good to talk with you at the ________conference. Attached is the full proposal you requested (or whatever was requested). Here is the query information I gave you. (This refreshes their memory of your book versus the many they’ve talked to)

At the top left margin I list quick facts:

Title: (in italics, of course)

Genre: (contemporary or historical or suspense romance, or mystery, or whatever)

Completed ms of ___words (Or tell when you project it to be finished and word count)

By: -- debut author so and so (or otherwise)

A stand alone or first book in a series? or leave this line blank

Email: (yours)

Home mailing address:

Web Site:

Blog:

Twitter:

Telephone No.  (I like to put this last so they find it fast to call me!) ( :

   

Pitch: (This is very important and will hook the editor/agent to go on or stop reading. It’s the main gist of your story in a sentence or two. Here’s a pitch worksheet that helped me get on target.)

(Your protagonist _________MUST___________________________(critical plot goal) BY______________________(conflict with the Antagonist, etc.) ONLY TO REALIZE ___________________(what the character learns about life that helps him/her change his/her goal during the journey or come to a satisfactory ending.

Sample 1

Jacob Marshall must avenge his father’s honor by implicating Serena Jones’ father, only to realize revenge often hurts the innocent.

Sample 2  (my pitch for my first novel, Summer of Deception)

Rachel York determines to unearth the truth about her brother's reported death by taking a position at a historic Carolina tea plantation, only to realize the truth may destroy her new found love and could even cost her life.

 

Back Cover Copy:  Is the owner of Markham Hall a man of integrity or is he part of the secret Charleston drug smuggling society that caused her brother's death?

(Here you’ll want to put something brief that will hopefully hook readers who will read the back cover before buying a book.)

Brief Synopsis: (Here is where you can expand the pitch into a good paragraph.)

Rachel York, an orphaned college girl, has no idea that love, danger, and a shocking revelation await her in Charleston, South Carolina. What can be better than spending summer taking care of a five-year-old girl on a working tea plantation? Rachel is hopeful the location will allow her to learn more about her brother's plane crash and death reported by the Charleston Drug Enforcement Administration. She arrives and discovers a handsome new widower owner, the little girl’s father. Luke Markham is a wounded hero back from the Middle Eastern conflict. He knows nothing about her job offer by his deceased uncle and looks on her with suspicion but finally gives her the position. Even with his eye patch, bitterness, and distrust, Luke threatens to capture Rachel’s heart until the night she discovers evidence he may be involved in coastal drug smuggling. Can Rachel’s faith survive the tests of deception and danger? Can Luke find faith again? After all the deception is unraveled, and Rachel learns the truth about her brother, can she and Luke find a love as strong as the tides renewing Markham Hall’s beaches and as enduring as the Camelis tea bushes planted in its heartland? (I tell the full ending if a long synopsis is requested with the first three chapters or full ms.)

Marketing Strategies: (all authors are expected to do marketing today)

I am building readership and friends by social networking on three blogs, a web site, face book, and Twitter; by leading writers’ groups; and by obtaining bylines with articles.  I hope to have a virtual book tour and produce a trailer. Other marketing plans include speaking engagements, book signings, TV and radio interviews, endorsements, and obtaining influencers who will write reviews for Amazon and other Internet sites as I have done for author friends.

Brief Bio: (Here is where you need your best bio in 100 words or less)

Elva Cobb Martin is president of the South Carolina Chapter of American Fiction Writers. She has taught school but now devotes her time to freelance writing, leading an Internet prayer ministry, and ministering as a guest speaker. Her articles have been published in Decision, Charisma, Home Life, Mature Living, and The State Magazine. She and her husband of forty years are the parents of a law officer son and a wonderful six-year-old grandson. They live in Anderson, South Carolina, and are active in a local congregation.

Final Sentence:    (Let the agent/editor know if this query is a simultaneous submission, which queries can often be, but not full ms. Check their guidelines.)

This is a simultaneous submission in seeking representation (or publication). I appreciate your consideration.

Sincerely,

Elva Cobb Martin

                                               *********************

Does the above help you write a query for a novel? Do you have suggestions for improvement?

Elva

Elva Cobb Martin is a freelance writer, Bible teacher, and grandmother. She is president of the American Christian Fiction Writers new South Carolina Chapter. She has been published in Decision, Charisma, and Home Life. She is currently seeking representation for her inspirational romance novels. Elva lives in Anderson, South Carolina, with her husband Dwayne. You can contact her by leaving a comment on this blog or through her web site at www.elvamartin.com, or on Facebook or Twitter @Elvacobbmartin.

 

Query Letter for a Novel

Hello there. So glad you stopped by!

Do you know how to write a query letter? Successful query letters for articles, fiction and non-fiction books are all alike in some ways, but very different in other ways. Some folks grit their teeth attempting to compose a query.

But it really doesn't have to be that hairy. I promise.

Below is a query letter I recently sent to a literary agency for a novel, after checking their submission guidelines carefully. The agency asked for a full mss quickly so, hopefully, something hooked their attention. Today I am giving you the exact query I sent (but not the first five pages they also requested that I paste in the same email). In my next blog we will go over the important parts included in this one page query letter.

Title: In a Pirate's Debt

Genre: Historical Inspirational Romance

Completed mss: 71,000 words

By debut author Elva Cobb Martin

A stand alone or first book in a series

Email: elvacmartin@gmail.com

Address: 104 Oak Knoll Terrace, Anderson, SC 29625

Web site: www.elvamartin.com Blog: http://carolinaromancewithelvamartin.blogspot.com

Twitter: Elva Cobb Martin @ElvaCobbMartin

Telephone: 864/226-7024 (h) 864/314-0804 (cell)

Pitch: In a Pirate's Debt is the story of a young woman who escapes a forced marriage but falls into the hands of a buccaneer who is considering taking King George’s pardon. Will the pirate risk his life and heart to help her?

Back Cover Copy: Saving her can land him in a hangman’s noose at low tide in Charles Town Harbor. Repaying her debt to him will relegate her to a life worse than death.

Briefly: Travay Allston flees her stepfather’s house in Jamaica and Sir Roger Poole who has won her hand in marriage in a gambling payoff. Poole corners her at the edge of the Caribbean and she drives her horse over the cliff into the bay. Privateer Captain Lucas “Bloodstone” Barrett pulls her from the ocean half dead and suffering from amnesia. Sailing on his ship, The Blue Heron, Travay regains her memory and has nothing but scorn for the pesky boy of her childhood, son of indentured parents, who has turned pirate—and become strikingly handsome. Love is out of the question, but she owes him a debt for saving her life. Lucas, on a quest to find his parents captured by the Spanish, backs off from the lovely, spoiled Travay. She spells nothing but trouble, especially to a new convert to Christianity. He drops her off in Charles Town and washes his hands of her. He thinks. When Lucas is sentenced to hang for piracy, Sir Roger shows up with a pardon, but only if Travay marries him. Will Travay repay her debt to a pirate by marrying their mutual enemy? Falling in love with the pirate was never part of her plan. . . .

Target Audience: women 30–80

Marketing Strategies: I am building readership and friends by social networking on three blogs, a web site, face book, and Twitter; by leading writers’ groups; and by obtaining bylines with articles. I hope to have a virtual book tour and produce a trailer. Other marketing plans include speaking engagements, book signings, TV and radio interviews, endorsements, and obtaining influencers who will write reviews for Amazon and other internet sites as I have done for author friends.

Brief Bio: Elva Cobb Martin is president of the South Carolina Chapter of American Fiction Writers. She has taught school but now devotes her time to freelance writing, leading an internet prayer ministry, and ministering as a guest speaker. Her articles have been published in Decision, Charisma, Home Life, Mature Living, and The State Magazine. She and her husband of forty years are the parents of a law officer son and a wonderful six-year-old grandson. They live in Anderson, South Carolina, and are active in a local congregation.

This is a simultaneous submission in seeking representation. I appreciate your consideration.

Sincerely,

Elva Cobb Martin

(end of query)

There, doesn't that seem easy? Actually, it's a carefully crafted piece and one I look forward to sharing more about in my next blog.  Thanks for stopping by and do leave a comment. Have you had a successful query recently?

Elva Cobb Martin

Elva Cobb Martin is a freelance writer, Bible teacher and grandmother. She is president of the American Christian Fiction Writers new South Carolina Chapter. She has been published in Decision, Charisma, and Home Life and is currently working on an inspirational romance novel. Elva lives in Anderson, South Carolina, with her husband and high school sweetheart, Dwayne. You can connect with her through her web site at www.elvamartin.com , on Face Book and Twitter @Elvacobbmartin. Or leave a comment below on this blog