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Twitter just gets bigger and bigger. It’s amazing how often we’re hearing about tweets during the current election cycle, for instance. It’s really the perfect medium for getting the word out quickly, making a point, poking your opponent while they are still in the middle of a speech, or complaining about NFL refs.

Twitter is also an amazing resource for authors who want to market their books online.

But it’s not just book marketing, Twitter is so much more. Over the last few years we’ve seen this groundbreaking “micro-blogging” service transform into a worldwide communications utility. Twitter has played a major role in revolutionary struggles and social transformations.

Closer to home, Twitter has become a preferred method for celebrities, corporations, customer service departments, software developers, food trucks, dry cleaners and political movements to stay in touch with followers, customers, colleagues and fans.

Sometimes tweets can seem cryptic, but they are just as often illuminating, ironic, pointed, funny, or melancholy. Really, the only limitation of the utility of Twitter seems to be its 140-character limit.

I really enjoy Twitter and have been an avid user for several years. It has brought tens of thousands of visitors to my blog, allowed me to meet and get to know colleagues and readers around the world, helped me arrange writing and speaking opportunities. Oh, it’s also a lot of fun.

To get you started (and hopefully get rid of that terror that may be keeping you from diving in), I’ve put together this little primer on using Twitter.

Getting Started in 3 Easy Steps

Here’s how I would suggest you get started if you’re one of those people who is simply terrified of Twitter, or if you “just don’t get it.”

1. Go to Twitter.com and sign up. You’ll need an email address, and you’ll get to pick your Twitter ID in the process.
2. Fill out your profile and upload a photo of yourself so you look presentable to the rest of the Twitter world.
3. Find some people to follow. Use the search field at the top right of your Twitter home page to enter a name or subject that’s an interest of yours, or that you write about. You’ll get a whole screen full of messages on the topic. Click the name of anyone who looks interesting, then click the blue “Follow” button.

Okay, relax, the hard work is done. Your next task is to listen. Keep reading the messages posted by people you are following, and follow new people who are also interested in the topic.

Once you start following people, Twitter will suggest other users to you on your home page. Follow them too. You can always “unfollow” them later if you like.

Many of the people you follow, by the way, will “follow you back.” That’s okay, you don’t have to worry about them until you start putting out messages of your own. But you’re not going to do that until you’re completely comfortable and feel safe.

After you’ve opened your Twitter account, spend some time listening, then dive in. You can make of it whatever you like. The ideas here will help you get started. Oh, and send me a tweet, I’ll be happy to respond.

Essential Twitter Basics

To use Twitter, you need to know some basic concepts. If you understand these, you’re ready to become a Twitter user.

Follow/Unfollow—On Twitter, you follow people you’re interested in. This means that every time they post a Tweet, it will show up on your home page, in your “timeline” or “stream.” Likewise, if someone follows you, they will see the tweets you post.

Tweet—A message you send via Twitter. Tweets are limited to 140 characters and can include links to websites or other resources. You can’t style these tweets, they are all just plain text.

Re-Tweet (or RT)—Broadcast a tweet by another user to your own followers. You can do this by clicking the “Retweet” button that appears when you hover your cursor over a tweet on Twitter, or by using the RT button in many programs that work with Twitter.

More on retweeting

Modified Tweet (or MT)—A tweet that’s been modified in some way before being re-tweeted.

Twitter ID (or Handle, username, etc.)—The name you create for your account when you set it up. Your Twitter ID always starts with an “at” sign (@). For instance, @BarackObama is the Twitter ID for the U.S. president. Pick this carefully, you’ll be using it for a long time.

Lists—You can create lists of other Twitter users and you get to control who is on each list. These are used only for reading the tweets by people on the list; you can’t broadcast just to one specific list. Lists are incredibly helpful in managing your Twitter feed so you can concentrate on one subject at a time.

More on Twitter lists

Direct message (or DM)—A private message you send to another user who is following you. No one else can see a DM. If you are following each other, you can carry on a completely private conversation this way.

By the way, when you follow people sometimes you’ll get a Direct Message from them instantly. These are automatic and I think most users avoid them. Don’t feel obligated to respond.

More on DMs

Trends (trending)—Twitter’s software robots watch what people are talking about and select the top 10 subjects at any moment, displaying them on your home page.

More on trending

Hashtags—A way to indicate that a tweet is part of a larger conversation or related to a specific topic or event. Hashtags are also really useful for filtering the stream of tweets to see those specific topics. They have a pound sign (#) followed by a word or phrase with no spaces within it.

Hashtags for writers

Profile Picture (or Avatar)—A clear, professional and friendly photo is usually the best to start off with.

Bio—The most crucial part of your profile, you want to use the 160 characters allowed to say something meaningful about your work and your interests.

Blocking—If you don’t want to unfollow someone, you can simply block their tweets, it’s easy. See the link for instructions.

More on blocking users

Mentions—When you are referenced in someone else’s tweet, using your @Twitter ID.

.@ (Period before a user’s Twitter ID)—If you tweet in reply to another user, your tweet will begin with that users Twitter ID, which starts with the “at” sign (@). Twitter may not send this Tweet to all your followers since it considers it a more or less “private” conversation. If you want the reply to go to all of your followers, put a period first.

More on “dot syntax”

Okay, Now What?

None of this will tell you what to do when you want to start publishing your own tweets. But watching the people you admire, and the people who seem to have a lot of followers will show you one very important thing.

Those who seem most successful on Twitter share lots of useful, interesting or amusing resources from other people. Interspersed will be tweets about their own content, books, or other projects.

If you do the same, you will also be popular. I think about 3 or 4 tweets from other people to every 1 of your own is about right for most people.

But listen as long as you like before you start tweeting. Here are some more resources if you’d like to delve deeper.

More Twitter Resources to Help You Get Started

10 Steps for Authors Who Want to Get Started on Twitter
Twitter Help Center Twitter Basics
Mashable’s Guide to Twitter
Twitter: Top 5 Ways to Find Your Tribe
Your 10-Step Plan for Becoming a Twitter Star
Metadata for the Tweeps: Using Twitter Hashtags

 

This is a reprint from Joel Friedlander‘s The Book Designer.

This post, by Carolyn Kellogg, originally appeared on the Los Angeles Times’ Jacket Copy blog on 11/3/10.

 

If you want to write a novel in 30 days, don’t let anyone stop you. Not even Salon’s Laura Miller.

Miller, who I usually find thoughtful and sweet, has written an anti-NaNoWriMo column — "Better yet, DON’T write that novel" — that is at best wrongheaded, and at worst, smallhearted. Miller would lay the blame for too many writers — and not enough readers — at the foot of NaNoWriMo, the project that challenges would-be authors to write a 50,000-word novel during the month of November.

 

 

The too-many-writers trope is echoed by people who publish literary journals, who see more submissions than subscriptions, and those in the publishing industry who’d simply like to sell more books. Even if it is true — which I’m not convinced it is — there are certainly other factors, including the hundreds of MFA programs in creative writing, that swell the ranks of hopeful writers.

And is a large pool of hopeful writers really a terrible thing? Are there not thousands more marathon runners than medalists, more home chefs than pros who might ever run a restaurant kitchen? What’s wrong with an enthusiastic amateur class of writers? Who says they’re not readers, anyway? I’ve yet to see anything more substantial than a dinner party anecdote.

Here’s a quick rundown of Miller’s argument, and where it goes wrong.

1. Miller writes: " ‘Make no mistake,’ the organization’s website counsels. ‘You will be writing a lot of crap. And that’s a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create.’ I am not the first person to point out that ‘writing a lot of crap’ doesn’t sound like a particularly fruitful way to spend an entire month, even if it is November."

In fact, spending a month "writing a lot of crap" is more fruitful than many things, including much of the fun, casual cultural consumption we regularly engage in. It’s more fruitful than watching TV, playing video games, spending hours on Facebook or Twitter. It might not be more fruitful than innoculating children in an underdeveloped village, but we’re not talking about people quitting the Peace Corps in order to do NaNoWriMo. The only thing "writing a lot of crap" can genuinely be said to be less fruitful than is writing well. 

Miller quotes it, but misses the essential point: for a hopeful writer to "just create." It’s the act of doing that’s important. Knitters don’t knit because their friends need more hats. But so far, there hasn’t been a "Better yet, DON’T knit that scarf" manifesto.

 

 

Read the rest of the post on Jacket Copy – and start clearing your decks for NaNoWriMo!

Ebook customers tend to be price sensitive, but it can be difficult for authors to know how to price their ebooks for maximum profitability. It may seem counterintuitive, but a higher price doesn’t necessarily mean higher profits. The good news is that ebook publishers can experiment with different price points. 

Below are links to two excellent articles on the topic of finding the optimum price for your ebook. Some of the principles discussed in these articles apply to printed books too, although consumers are generally willing to pay more for print books.

• Pricing Strategies for Ebooks, by Mark Coker, CEO of Smashwords
   
• Experimenting with Ebook Pricing, by Aaron Patterson 

 

This is a reprint from Dana Lynn Smith‘s The Savvy Book Marketer.

We’re happy to share this post and accompanying podcast from the Beyond the Bookcast group of the Copyright Clearance Center. In it, publishing expert Bruce Harris talks about the opportunity to approach a publishing project the same way producers approach film and TV projects: by assembling a team of talented freelancers on a per-project basis.

There’s no business like show business to serve as a model for book publishing, according to industry veteran Bruce Harris, who spoke earlier this summer at the Yale Publishing Course.

“When you’re doing a show, a group of talented people come together. They focus on a particular task. And they get very involved, and very intense about it. And then, after it’s done, they split up, and they form other groups to do different things,” Harris tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally. 

“In publishing today, there seems to be this thing about having a fixed group of people who constantly have to do work on very different kinds of books. And I think that now, with so much freelance talent available, you can form your own team. There a lot of people who are skilled at publicity, there are people who are skilled at marketing, there are people who are skilled at production. And so you can form your own team and say, what can I do?”

Indeed, that is just what Harris has done. As an independent producer, he has supervised publication of several books that have become national bestsellers. In June 2012 at BookExpo America, Harris previewed the October publication of Anomaly by Skip Brittenham and Brian Haberlin, “an oversized (10” x 15”) 370 page full-color painted hardcover graphic novel, a sprawling science-fiction saga about a corporate space mission that goes deeply awry.”

Bruce Harris began his publishing career at The Crown Publishing Group where he publishedThe Joy of Sex, Martha Stewart’s Entertaining, Douglas Adams Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Maurice Sendak’s Nutcracker and founded the Harmony Books imprint. He became President of Trade Sales and Marketing at Random House and supervised successful publishing strategies for books by Colin Powell, Tom Peters, and hundreds of other best-sellers. Later, he became Publisher-COO at Workman Books and designed campaigns for 1,000 Places To See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz, Younger Next Year by Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge and The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller and Deborah Jones.

The Yale Publishing Course (YPC) offers mid to senior-level publishing professionals from all over the world access to industry experts and a cutting-edge curriculum focusing on the most crucial areas in publishing. During the week-long programs in book and magazine & digital publishing, YPC participants learn new leadership skills and develop their global network and perspective. Follow YPC on Twitter #YPC2012 

 

by Toni Tesori (@Duolit)

Toni is one half of the team at Duolit, a self-publishing blog and author services company (the other half is Shannon, Toni’s BFF). I’ve been impressed by the way Toni and Shannon have set out to help indie authors market their books, and I asked her for tips that would help you, too. Here’s her response.

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When you make the decision to self-publish, you join a crowded marketplace: the number of indie books has more than quadrupuled since 2006! 

With thousands of new authors taking the self-pub plunge every year, it’s becoming drastically more difficult to distinguish yourself from the pack and find success.

This is reflected in the (rather depressing) statistic that 8 out of 10 books sell fewer than 100 copies. Doesn’t that make you sick to your stomach?

Every day, I hear from indie authors sadly confirming this statistic; frustrated and disheartened after selling just a handful of books to family and friends!

To be honest, it’s not their fault: the root of this selling problem lies with the DIY nature of self-publishing itself.

Learn as You Go

Unless you have a money tree, to travel the indie author highway you must quickly become a jack of all trades.

And you know the phrase “jack of all trades, master of none?” Well, that’s particularly true for the marketing part of the publishing process. Indie authors are forced to figure out selling as they go, often picking up tactics from other authors, (wrongly) assuming those tactics are effective.

As a result, we see the same book marketing mistakes repeated over and over again.

Do me a favor: decide right now to help reverse that 80% failure rate. You’ve put too much effort into publishing your book to let it flop!

7 Common Book Marketing Mistakes (and How to Fix Them) Mistake #1: Having unreasonable expectations.

I’d love to say otherwise, but book marketing is much more an art than a science. The variables involved (quality, genre, target market, etc.) are endless, and there’s no whiz-bang silver bullet for success.

Many authors, however, come into self-publishing convinced they’re going to retire the day after their book is released (after making a quick pit stop on Oprah’s couch, of course).

If that fantasy has crossed your mind, don’t let me deter you: that type of self-publishing success is possible! To achieve it, however, be realistic about the time and effort you must put in to get there.

Like it or not, when you self-publish, you’re running a business!

Think back to your childhood lemonade stand days. I don’t know about you, but I had a hard time selling that delicious cool drink, even in the heat of summer. And those customers only had to hand over 25-cents to an adorable (I hope) child!

Just because you’ve gotten older doesn’t mean selling is any easier. Remember,you have more than 300,000 others publishing their work at the same time as you!

Mistake #2: Rushing to release.

I totally understand how easy it is to make this mistake.

After you put the finishing touches on your book, you’re exhausted…but pumped. You’ve spent weeks, months, or years of your life writing this masterpiece and want nothing more than to share it with the world.

When you rush your book’s release, however, you’re shortchanging the immensity of your accomplishment!

You did something millions only achieve in their dreams: you authored a book. Don’t release it with a whimper. This is your personal moon landing, build up to that massive moment. It’s a big effing deal!

Basically: take a breath and give yourself ample time to plan an epic book release. Set a launch date three to six months down the road. It may seem like a long time, but you’ll still release your work faster than you ever could with traditional publishing!

Mistake #3: Being a “Survivor”

Remember when Survivor premiered? Millions tuned in each week, shocked to witness the lengths folks would go to in hopes of winning the million dollar prize. Backstabbing, bad-mouthing and all-around nastiness were the name of the game.

What’s shocking to me is how many indies possess this Survivor mentality today, seeing their fellow indies strictly as competition.

The scenario here, however, is totally different: there’s not only one big prize for which we’re all competing. Readers don’t read just one book, or even just one author. There’s room in the book-selling world for everyone!

You’ve been there; you know how hard it is to market your own book.Forming an indie alliance can mean doubling your audience in a flash!

When searching for a partner:

• Only approach authors whose work you truly adore; for your alliance to work, it must be genuine.
• Don’t feel pressured to stick to your own genre; many YA fans enjoy “chicklit” and quite a few sci-fi fans enjoy fantasy.

Mistake #4: Selling to everyone

It’s only natural to want (or assume) that everyone will enjoy your book. While that may be true, marketing to everyone is not only impossible, but also ineffective.

Finding your target market gives you a powerful tool: a group to center all of your marketing decisions around.

As an example, let’s check out how having a target market helps you answer common book marketing quandaries:

• Q: Where do I find new readers? A: Where does your target market hang out?
• Q: What do I include in my newsletter? A: What would your target be interested in reading?
• Q: How do I encourage readers to purchase my book? A: What makes your target decide to purchase books?

Okay, so sometimes the answer to a question is a question, but reframing it from your target market’s perspective often allows you to answer your own question.

If you want to go all out, you can even give your target market a face. That’s right, picture one of your target market members and give him a name, background info, personality traits—just like a book character. When you get stuck, ask him what he’d like to hear/read from you!

Mistake #5: Neglecting your fans.

A huge benefit of self-publishing is the ability to form relationships with your readers on an individual basis.

Growing up, I adored Ann M. Martin (author of the Babysitters Club series—don’t judge). The closest I could ever get to her, however, was the “About the Author” page in the back of each book. I could never dream of communicating with her directly!

Nowadays, thanks to the internet and social media, readers can do just that. And that connection is a powerful selling tool!

To communicate with your readers, create an email list. Encourage folks to sign up by offering an exclusive excerpt, short story or other freebie.

One note of caution: your emails must be (1) consistent and (2) useful. Our inboxes are super-cluttered, so you must condition readers to expect your emails and give them a reason to open those updates.

When your readers take the time to email you back, respond to each one thoughtfully and genuinely. Don’t take for granted the opportunity to build real relationships with people who love your work. In yo’ face, Ann Martin!

Mistake #6: Unintentional spamming.

While social media has allowed readers greater access to their favorite authors, keeping up with social networks can quickly become a drain on your precious marketing time.

Luckily, there’s plenty of apps to help out, so you begin to implement some automation. First you simply send every new Twitter follower a welcome message, but soon you’re scheduling a week’s worth of tweets and Facebook updates in advance.

I’m not going to argue that automation has its place, but at what cost? Too much automation dilutes the effectiveness of your social media efforts; you may even (unintentionally) turn off fans by seeming like a spammer!

You know that whole thoughtful and genuine thing I mentioned in regards to communicating with your fans? It applies to social media as well.

Believe me: your followers can tell when you’ve over-automated and will respond appropriately (that is, by not responding at all or by unfollowing you).

There’s nothing wrong with scheduling some updates in advance, but make an effort to check your networks and personally respond to a few replies and mentions every day. You don’t need to set aside too much time for this; 15 minutes will do it. It’s better to have fewer updates (that are truly entertaining and personal) than a continual stream of spammy content.

Mistake #7: Undervaluing the importance of professional editing and design.

Like it or not, pro editing and design affect the perceived value of your work (and, thus, your sales).

I understand how painful it can be to depart with your hard-earned cash, but (just like that lemonade stand) your book is a business, and these professional services are an investment in that business.

Learn from successful business-y folks: they know when to spend some money to make a lot more!

This is another great reason to avoid rushing to release your book—holding off gives you more time to save up for these services.

If you’re already released your book but didn’t invest in editing or design the first time around, plan a second edition launch 3-6 months down the road and start saving now!

What Will You Improve?

If you’ve made any of the mistakes above, don’t feel bad! Like I said at the start, with all the work indie authors do themselves, there’s simply no way to perfect your book marketing in one shot. You must continually experiment, refining your approach once you find out what works for you.

To wrap up, I just want to say that I’m a huge cheerleader for indie authors. Your resourcefulness and dedication to the success of your book is the inspiration for everything we do over at Duolit. Give your marketing efforts a bit of time and patience, and I know you’ll achieve success!

I’m curious, though: did any of the above mistakes resonate with you?What can you do today to begin patching things up? If you’re mistake-free (rock on!), have you noticed any oopsies from your fellow indies? Let’s chat in the comments!

Toni Tesori is one half of Duolit, two gals who help passionate fiction authors sell more books by building their crazy-dedicated fanbase. If you’re ready to become a book marketing whiz, check out their FREE 4-week training course. A new session starts later this month!

 

This is a reprint of a guest post from Joel Friedlander‘s The Book Designer.

 by L.J. Sellers, author of provocative mysteries & thrillers

Several recent blogs made me think about the writer’s role and how social media has made us all so likable and homogenous. 

First there was Sandra Parshall’s great piece on Poe’s Deadly Daughters in which she asked the question: Should writers keep their opinions to themselves online so they don’t offend readers? She mentioned instances in which readers said they would never read so-and-so’s work again because of something they had posted on Facebook or Twitter. I’m guessing it was something political, and the readers were of the other persuasion. 

This has weighed on my mind because I have succumbed to self-censorship. Every day, I make a choice to not post links to liberal commentaries I enjoyed. When others post political statements I agree with, I’ll click the Like button but typically won’t comment. My thinking is that conservatives buy novels too, so why offend them? But it also makes me cringe. Until this point in my life—when I became a very public person—I’ve always spoken freely and said what I thought. Maybe too much so, I hear my husband say in my head. 

I even moved The Sex Club—my bestseller and a book readers loved—out of my Jackson series and into the standalone thriller list, because the book is political and I didn’t want to lose readers before they even gave the series a chance. But now Amazon wants to market it as part of the series, and I said yes. I’m a little worried about the backlash, but I’m also happy to take ownership of my politics again. 

The other interesting post that dovetailed into this discussion was in Slate magazine and subtitled The Epidemic of Niceness in Online Book Culture. The author made the point that when writers friend, support, and Like! everyone, it becomes nearly impossible to give an honest critique of their work. How can you say something even mildly critical about a novel if the author just gave you an online hug? 

In my experience, most writers are by nature really nice people. We’re typically very supportive. We want to help each other, and post great reviews on Amazon, and retweet book links. And l love it. I’m part of that culture. But is it honest? If I were a professional book reviewer who didn’t know some these authors personally, would I have a different assessment of their work? In that scenario, my loyalty would be to readers, to give them a full honest appraisal of the book. 

If I post on Twitter than I’m reading a particular book and someone asks me if I like it—and by then I’ve stopped reading it—what do I say? If I post that it was too slow for me, I risk offending several people and maybe that reader will decide we must like different books so they won’t bother to try mine. 

This is why I don’t read much fiction or talk about what I read—unless I love it. And I turn down almost all requests to review novels. My nature is to be supportive—often to an extreme—but I also have a loyalty to my readers, and I shouldn’t steer them toward books just because those writers are my friends whom I have great affection for. 

I love social media and connecting with people and I’ll keep doing what I can to cultivate friends and encourage people to like me. But some days, the self-censorship makes me not like myself. 

What do you think? Is the online writer community too nice? Do you ever wish you could cut loose and say something critical or political—without losing readers or friends?

 

This is a reprint from the Crime Fiction Collective blog, and is reprinted here in its entirety with that site’s permission.

This post, by K.W. Jeter, originally appeared on SteamWords on 8/27/12.

Here’s the background: Indie e-publishing phenom John Locke, famous for being the first indie writer to sell a million ebooks on Amazon.com, has been outed in the New York Times for having bought a large number, if not most, of the positive reviews that propelled his success:

The Best Reviews Money Can Buy

If this were just a scandale that concerned John Locke alone, I wouldn’t care about it, and I doubt if very many other people in the indie e-publishing scene would, either. But the problem is that it casts indie ebooks in general, along with their writers, in a bad light.

You only have to scroll through the comments to the New York Times article to find a lot of people piling on, saying that incidents such as this demonstrate that indie ebooks are crap, that authors have to pay people to say nice things about, and that’s why they don’t buy them. But not just there; Salon.com chimed in with a painfully accurate assessment:

“…employing a service that dishonest and cynical demonstrates a bizarre contempt for the reader. It casts the writer as a producer of widgets and the reader as a sucker who probably won’t complain if the product doesn’t live up to the hype, because hey, at least it was cheap. Books, in this scenario, become flea market trash…”

And how’s the Twitterverse discussing the matter? Here’s a couple of typical comments:

John Locke paid for positive reviews, according to NY Times article. Now, my question is: How many other authors pay?

and

John Locke, self publishing success, paid for over 300 reviews. I have no doubts many huge self pubs use this service.

 

Read the rest of the post on SteamWords.

We may still be sweltering in summer heat, but now is the time to plan your fall and winter book promotion schedule.

How can your book tie into upcoming events like back to school, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah or the dawning of a new year?

Keep media lead times in mind when planning for book publicity. Daily media like newspapers and blogs have shorter lead times, while monthly magazines may be working six months in advance.

Other possibilities include virtual book tours, social media campaigns, school visits, and discount promotions. If you are doing free ebook promotions through KDP Select, holidays can make great promotional hooks.

So set some goals for what you’d like to accomplish over the next few months, grab a calendar, and start working on timelines and to do lists for your fall and winter book promotions.

To learn more about how to develop a book marketing plan, download my free report, Create a Book Marketing Plan That Sells Books.

 

This is a reprint from Dana Lynn Smith‘s The Savvy Book Marketer.