Readers seem to want to know why authors write. And several of the interviews for my upcoming blog tour asked the question “What made you want to become a writer?” My answer is probably trite, but hopefully amusing: I didn’t.
 
I didn’t have childhood dreams of being a writer. I loved to read. In fact, I devoured books as a child, the longer the better. I had a vivid imagination and loved getting lost in fantasy, adventure, history, anywhere but reality. But never once did I picture myself with pen in hand, churning out stories.
 
Now I can’t seem to stop. And my stories don’t want to be confined to one genre. (They have minds of their own.) So I decided to take a class on branding. The teacher asked us to look at who we are, what we like, what authors do we aspire to be, what do readers say about our books, what words and colors stand out. Lo and behold, I love journeys, sea green, and I’m all about the heart. I want to go on a journey when I read. I want to feel the characters’ emotions, to take the winding road with them and face their obstacles, their choices, their needs and fears. And that’s what I want my readers to do with my stories. 
 
So why do YOU write? What do you want your readers to do? How do you want your readers to feel? Let's find the reasons you do what you do.

Amazon is very clever. Right after I released Bella Toscana as an ebook I got a message from KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) about how to format, update, and promote my book. But one of the first things they mention is how to create a dedicated author page for yourself.
 
"If you are this book's author, increase your sales potential on Amazon by creating an Author Central account and share your most up-to-date information via a dedicated author page. Publishers, be sure to work with your authors to set up their Author Central accounts, as well. Click the links below to create author pages on different marketplaces."
 
The links take you to Japan, Germany, France, U.S., and the United Kingdom.
 
Amazon.co.jp
Amazon.de
Amazon.fr
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
  
The purpose of the Author Page is to introduce you to your readers. If you have an Author Page, your head shot will show up directly below your book on your sales page. There will also be a "Follow" button that readers can click to stay in touch with you and your upcoming releases. Readers love having a personal connection with the authors they read, so take advantage of this feature.
 
Start with the U.S. and log in with your Amazon account info. You'll need a head shot and a bio, but this bio should be inviting, catchy, fun. Don't put up your resume. Readers want to connect with a person, not a statistic. Here's a snippet from my Author Page bio to give you an idea:
 
"On the fun side, she takes walks with her husband, cooks, plays with graphic design, and makes origami butterflies. She loves to travel, but she’s waiting for the teleportation machine to whisk her off to Greece or Asia. In the meantime, she’s happy with dark chocolate and romantic movies that make her cry."
 
Once your U.S. author page is done, move on to the other sites. The sites will come up in their own language. To translate, right click on the page and select "Translate to English." Then click on the Author Page tab in the top menu. This is where you can copy your bio from your U.S. page, add your photo, and you're done and ready to move on to the next one. [Just an FYI - I had trouble with the Japan site, but the other ones were easy.]
 
You may not be selling books in these other countries now, but some day you might. A blogger is reviewing one of my books in England. And maybe I can find someone in Germany or France. You never know!

I don’t like marketing. Marketing is about selling and selling makes me uncomfortable. What if people don’t like my book? What if they don’t like me? I’d rather just hide in a corner.
 
Alas, the ugly truth about marketing is that unless you truly want to hide in a corner, you have to do it. You have to promote your book, your article, your story, yourself. If you don’t promote yourself, no one will know about you.
 
Here are some facts about marketing:
 

1. It takes courage. Nobody likes rejection. You want to be loved and praised and supported and told that you’re wonderful. And you are. But you still gotta market.
2. It takes time. Marketing is a process, not an overnight event. You need a plan, strategy, carry through, and follow-up. Plan a giveaway, schedule an interview, or contact bloggers for reviews. Then weigh your results, see what works and doesn’t work, and do it better the next time.
3. It takes dedication. Just because you’ve done something once doesn’t mean you can give up. It took you years to write your book, but you didn’t give up. Marketing is the never-ending manuscript. You have to keep on keeping on. You got two book reviews? Great! Go get two more.
4. It’s not for the faint of heart. The authors who get remembered are the ones in the public eye. They do interviews, book signings, appear on panels, on radio and TV. They’re not afraid to talk about their books. In fact, they love to talk about their books. And because they love what they do, they encourage and inspire their readers to love them. 
   ​

The nice thing about marketing is that it's really about building relationships. Imagine you're making friends with your readers. You learn a little about them. They learn a little about you. Over time you grow to like each other, maybe even love each other.
 
If you’re brand new to marketing, ease in slowly. It took me a long time to find that courage. It may take you a while too. But you can. Talk to someone who’s done some marketing. Go to a book signing and see what it’s all about. Seek out book blogs online that review your type of book. Try a Kindle Countdown promotion or a Goodreads giveaway. Get your toes wet and see how it feels. It may be great or it may be sucky. Either way, congratulate yourself for your bravery. You did it!
 
Remember, you're making friends. You're building a relationship. One down, a lot to go.
 

​It's time to dust off the cobwebs of your mind and start fresh. How about a promotion? The thought of a job promotion usually brings to mind more status, more money, and more respect. In standard business, people work years to get promoted, putting in long hours, understanding the company, making connections with the right people.
 
Your book needs the same thing. Thankfully, you don’t have to be in an office or suffer with rush-hour traffic or a job/boss you hate. You can do a lot of your promotion from the comfort of your own home.
 
Today there are companies (and websites) that do a lot of the work for you. Your book can be featured on BookLife.com, PublishersWeekly.com, in press releases, on social media, even at book fairs. Here are some ways to get started.
 
BookMarketingTools.com has a free guide called The Ultimate Author Checklist for Online Book Marketing – a great way to dive into the book marketing world. They also help with eBook submissions, getting reviews for your book, and promoting your book on ReadingDeals.com. Visit http://bookmarketingtools.com/tools
 
BookTweeters.com helps you promote your book online to more than 530,000 followers. [Be aware that all those people may not be your target audience. But some of them may be.] Visit http://BookTweeters.com/
 
When you’re ready to step out a little more, try the following with BookLife.com:
 
In Print - https://booklife.com/about-us/promote-your-book-in-the-pw-select-module.html
 
Press Release - https://ireach.prnewswire.com/booklife/AppHome.aspx
 
Book Fair - https://booklife.com/about-us/book-fair-marketing.html
 
As always, I wish you the best. Let me know how it's going!
 
Warmly,
Nanette
 

Marketing? Who, me? You’ve got to be kidding. I’m a writer.

When I first began writing I wanted nothing to do with marketing. Marketing was for people in the advertising business, sales people, people who owned LARGE businesses. I was just getting started and I wanted to write for fun. Who cared about marketing?

Sadly, business doesn’t go anywhere if you don’t market. I (or you) may have the best books in the world, but if no one else knows about them, people won’t buy them and read them and share them. And what’s the point of writing if others don’t read what you write?

In the golden days of publishing, you sold your book to a publishing house and the publishing house took care of the marketing. They assigned you a publicist, you went on tour, they created advertising and press releases and promoted your book in the bookstores. Alas, the age of high technology and social media has arrived, along with self-publishing. Publishing houses only want you if you’re a big name or certain to create lots of sales. And if they take on your book, they expect YOU to market the hell out of it, which means doing your own publicity and advertising. 

Marketing is not my thing. I’d much rather sit back and watch someone else take charge. But even if I hire a marketing person, I still have to promote my books. And as a publisher, it’s important that I know how to support my clients and what to recommend. So, it’s time to learn how.

My chiropractor (of all people) led me to a Social Media expert named Matthew Loop. If you go to his website (http://dcincome.com/blog/), you can sign up for his newsletter and get his FREE Blogging Success Blueprint. He strongly (urgently) recommends that everyone have a blog, and that your blog be a Wordpress blog. Several years ago I tried my hand at Wordpress and hated it. It confused me, frustrated me, and irritated me to no end. So I gave up and went to Weebly. Weebly is fun, easy to use, and it’s worked so far, but Google doesn’t love Weebly. Google loves Wordpress. And in the vein of being a good marketer I’m thinking —seriously—of switching to Wordpress. Sigh. Double sigh. Triple sigh.

If you’re writing just for fun, you can ignore everything I’ve said. But if writing is your business, or if you’ve written a book and don’t know what to do with it, then join me and learn how to market. Step 1 – get Matthew Loop’s Blogging Success Blueprint. I really like what I’ve read so far. I think you will too.

The publishing process can be a mystery to most writers. Your focus is on telling the story. What comes after that feels way down the road and unimportant. But writing your book is just one step. You also need to prepare your book for sale. That’s where the professionals come in.

There are four crucial steps after you finish your manuscript: editing, layout and graphic design, printing and proofreading, and publishing and promotion.

Editing
Your story can be the greatest story on earth, but if your writing style doesn’t reach your audience, no one will know. Don’t get bogged down in boring information or tired clichés. Make your writing sparkle so your readers are amazed. The way to do that is with professional editing. 

Developmental editing looks at the overall structure and flow of the book. Copy editing studies grammar, punctuation, spelling, and clarity. All authors need professional editing and Words of Passion utilizes both types to ensure your book is the best it can be.

Layout and Graphic Design 
Layout is about the inside appearance of your book. You want your masterpiece to be clean and attractive. Work directly with experts who will match your vision and create the book of your dreams. You'll decide on font choice, headers and footers, margin size, chapter headings, paper type, book size, and more.

The cover is what initially attracts your readers. Your book has one chance to make a good first impression. You want it to be stunning! Working with a great designer will bring your vision to life.

Printing and Proofreading
Once the layout and graphic design are finished, your manuscript draft and cover are sent to the printer to produce a sample of your book that looks exactly as it will in the final stage. This is the copy that is “proofread,” hence the term “proof” copy. Proof copies or Advanced Reading Copies help you garner great reviews while the editor notes corrections and changes to the interior and cover. Once corrections are approved the editor sends them to layout for a new draft and cover which are submitted to the printer. Then final copies are printed.

Publishing and Promotion
Many authors use online sites (like Amazon) as a platform for promoting their books. You want to have a place where people can buy both print and eBook versions of your book. But just putting your book online doesn’t guarantee sales. You also need a marketing plan that builds awareness and uses social media. Engage a marketing expert to provide a step-by-step plan for your book launch that will get you noticed.

Words of Passion is proud to offer a team of experts to assist you every step of the way from editing to promotion. For more information email me or call 770.623.8303.