The Savvy Book Marketer

Author Spotlight: Al Lautenslager

In today's author spotlight, I'm chatting with Al Lautenslager, author of Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days, about how he promotes his books.

Welcome Al. How did you educate yourself about the business of writing and marketing books?

The writing of speeches, presentations, reports, press releases, and content creation in all of my marketing, I attribute to Mrs. Ross, my 12th grade English composition teacher in Mason, Ohio, a long time ago.

Do you have a written book marketing plan? Yes

What book promotion tactics have worked best for you? 

Speaking, radio interviews, PR, networking, teleseminars, social media marketing, publisher push, website.

What advice can you give to other authors?

You have to market, get help marketing, consult others who have done it and don’t rely on the publisher. Never stop marketing. My books still sell well and five years later I continue the marketing of the first book that came out. It sells quite well and I collect nice royalty checks still. Adopt the long term attitude. Use social media to position yourself as an expert in a big way and speak to anyone and everyone. Lead with the “author” title. 

Author Spotlight - Tweed Scott

In today's author spotlight, I'm chatting with Tweed Scott about his experiences in marketing his book, Texas in Her Own Words.

Welcome Tweed. First, tell us a little about your book.

Thanks Dana. I describe Texas In Her Own Words as a peek into the Texas psyche. Through a series of interviews with well-known and ordinary Texans, I help explain why Texans are the way they are . . . where all that attitude comes from.

Your book was published by a small press, but you are very active in the distribution and promotion. How did you educate yourself about the business of publishing and marketing books?

When I realized what I was really doing was writing a book, I researched all the various publishing models to determine which one fit me and my project best. With my extensive background in broadcasting, I knew the most profitable way for me to market my book was to give presentations and sell in the back of the room. I learned early on that as an author I would spend 6% of my time writing my book; 94% of my time marketing my book.

You have gotten distribution in gift shops, including those at the Alamo and the Texas Capitol. What advice can you give authors for getting their book stocked in non-bookstore outlets?

Think out of the box. Think about who are the people who are going to buy your book? Where are they? What do they buy, read, eat; how do they spend their time and discretionary income? Once you get a clear handle on who your customers are, that should make your venues easier to find. Then go find them and talk to the people who purchase for those outlets.

From Book to Multiple Streams of Income

Authors of nonfiction books often find opportunities to create additional streams of income based on the book. Today author Liz Alexander shares the story of how she turned a book into a successful business.

Welcome Liz. I know that you have written ten books. Which one has resulted in the best income opportunities for you?

Without a doubt it's Working from the Heart: A Practical Guide to Loving What You Do For a Living, which was published by Random House in 1999. At that time I was a freelance contributor to British Airways' Business Life magazine. After I gave the editor a copy of my book she invited me to write a 1,000 word article because she liked the idea of finding work that you could connect with emotionally—work you could love.

Business Life was available to passengers on every pan-European British Airways flight for a month and when that particular issue came out, my article just happened to be read by an executive from Cathay Pacific Airways. He'd been charged with finding a speaker for the company’s upcoming re-launch of the airline’s first class seats and invited me to give a 45-minute pre-dinner presentation talking about passion for work—an aspect of company culture of which Cathay was extremely proud.

Interview with Author Melissa Williams

Melissa Williams is the author of the charming Iggy the Iguana series of children's books. Today I'm delighted to have her share her experiences in publishing and promoting her books.

Welcome Melissa. First, tell us a little about your books.

Iggy the Iguana is a chapter book series for ages 7 to 11. The major theme throughout Iggy’s journey revolves around acceptance and diversity.  In the first book of the series, Iggy has moved from his private “All-Lizard” school to a public “All-Animal” school. He is extremely worried about fitting in and making new friends.  After many humorous, dramatic, and heartfelt situations, Iggy matures into a self-confident lizard by the end of fourth grade. All of his experiences prepare him for the summer time in the second book of the series, Summer League. Sometimes God will put us in certain situations to create empathic understanding to help others in the future.

You published your books independently. How did you educate yourself about the business of publishing and marketing books? 

I took time to experience both sides of the industry in order to prepare myself for the task I was about to undertake.  I talked to other authors at publishing conferences and arranged one-on-one meetings in order to see what type of business worked best for my personality style.  I am an entrepreneur at heart, so I made the ultimate decision to keep all rights and control of my books and started LongTale Publishing. Of course I studied Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual backwards and forwards, and took EVERY necessary step to do it the right way and start a business. As a marketer it became necessary to always be months ahead of the game, so I surrounded myself with professionals to be aware of industry standards and additional ways to think out side the box. Networking!

Interview with Leigh Cunningham, Founder of the Association of Independent Authors

Welcome Leigh, and congratulations on launching the new Association of Independent Authors (AiA). Can you tell us a little about the association?

Thank you, Dana. There are a number of forums and social networks out there for writers generally, but none offered a secure members-only environment where independent and self-published authors could come together to share knowledge, resources, experiences and ideas, collaborate on projects, and provide support and encouragement in a dynamic community setting. And so the concept of a not-for-profit professional association came to fruition. Within our community, independent authors will learn from each other, and become better writers and business people or authorpreneurs.

There are three levels of membership, for aspiring authors, independently/self-published authors and consultants. Our consultant members play a vital role, as they help independent authors succeed by offering advice and articles in our Forums and Community Blogs. We are very pleased to have you involved, Dana, as moderator of our Community Blog, "Savvy Marketing for Independent Authors".

I like the Groups feature, where authors who write in a particular genre can get together and network, and the Forums focused on specific topics like Spelling and Grammar and Building a Platform.  What are some of the other benefits to joining AiA?    

A number of organizations have offered discounts to our members including marketing packages, video book trailers, non-bookstore sales programs, consulting services, books, courses, workshops and magazine subscriptions.

Within the Groups, members who write in a specific genre will be able to exchange critiques, reviews, contacts, market opportunities and feedback on what has been tried and tested. Groups have their own forums, newsletters, event calendars, photo gallery and blogs. We also have seventeen community Forums on writing and business topics.

Using the Keyword Search, members can search for everything written on a particular topic within individual member's blog and the Community blogs. This simplifies the information gathering process and ensures that the information is specific to independent authors, rather than for authors in general as is the case when using search engines.