The Value of Real Art
The Value of Real Art
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=David_Tatham]David Tatham
Over the centuries, art has been hailed as a great creative reflection of past times, a record focusing on certain aspects of society in that particular time.
More and more in recent years,these records by highly regarded artists throughout the past have become seen as invaluable and almost priceless items. I say, ‘almost’ priceless, because as we often see in some of the world’s great auction houses, works of art selling for incredibly high sums.
How difficult it is to place a value on an original unique piece of art that is the only representation of a certain scene during that period.
Fashion does have a part to play in the increase or decrease of a painting. The most susceptible type of work to ‘fall from favour’ overnight is modern, or contemporary work. From the investor’s point of view timing is absolutely critical when buying or selling a piece of this art. As we have seen, a contemporary painting valued at over one million pounds can sometimes be sold for a mere fraction of that figure when the fashion changes and the work is regarded as ‘old hat’.
The safest, and probably the most sensible approach to investing in art is to consider artists that have a proven track record for many years. Not simply a local or national artist that has been heavily promoted by the publishers for a short period of time, who then drops into obscurity within a matter of years. But an artist whose work is seen in many public galleries throughout the world and has had an extremely successful career, an artist who’s work is collected by knowledgeable members of the community, and is held in high esteem throughout the art world.. The work by these artists are definitely the most collectable, as they will stand the test of time and have something of real value to say to their observers.
Do not be persuaded by the luxury furnishings of a well placed gallery and a professional seller. Do a little research into the artist’s work that you wish to collect, and remember that if you are buying for decoration only, then let the price you pay work some work reflect that. If you are able to combine pleasure and investment then it is a bonus, but it is a difficult and tricky task to do so. Many people are lulled into a false sense of security, listening to only what they wish to hear, and are surprised years later that their ‘investment’ has increased as much as their car or three piece suite’.
David Tatham has been involved in the world of fine arts for over twenty five years and. His website contains a wealth of information, also hundreds signed, limited edition prints and original works of art by world famous artists, eg. The conservationist and wildlife artist, [http://www.davidshepherd.com]David Shepherd. [http://www.davidshepherd.com]http://www.davidshepherd.com.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Value-of-Real-Art&id=6524668] The Value of Real Art
Five E Distributors to Sell Your Ebook
Five E Distributors to Sell Your Ebook
by Q.B. Wells
Ebook distributors shorten the time it takes for publishers and authors to distribute the ebook to multiple retailers and make the product for sale to consumers. The publisher provides the distributor with the ebook in the contracted format megadata information and the necessary artwork. The publisher agrees to a wholesale price.
The distributor manages the accounting and delivering of the ebook contents to ebookstore retailers such as Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook, etc. The ebook distributor then pays the publisher a percentage of royalty based on the amount of sales from each retailers platform. The ebook distributor may charge 0-70% depending on the services, platform and how many retailers they have relationships with to sell the publishers product.
Some ebook distributors will charge publishers a setup fee and some will charge no upfront fees and receive a larger percent of the royalty from sales. As an added service, some ebook distributors will provide conversion or ebook formatting to make sure the ebook has a professional look and is compatible with most reading devices.
Use an ebook distributor if you want to save time or are not approved for an account from top retailers like Apple Ipad. Check the ebook distributors guidelines to see if contracts are exclusive or not.
Below are five top ebook distributors that will save time and get your ebook distributed to numerous platforms and get you to earning money now. They are in alphabetical order.
Art Official Media LLC – Provides ebook formatting, marketing and distribution for publishers to Apple Ipad, Amazon Kindle, Overdrive, Barnes and Noble Nook, Kobo and direct downloads through the publishers website. Works with publishers of 20 titles or less.
BookBaby - Provides distribution of ebooks to Apple IPad, Nook and Kindle for a small setup fee that includes basic formatting and setup. Check the website for royalty fees and additional ebookstores.
Lightning Source – Provides wholesale ebook distribution to their network of eretailers and have other services to make the ebook file available as print on demand paperback. Check their website for exact retailers and fees.
Overdrive – Provides distribution of ebooks to libraries and educational institutions. Works with publishers of 10 titles or more and has made considerable advances in the mobile library and k-12 market.
Smashwords – Provides distribution of ebooks in too many formats and platforms to list. However, publishers will need to read the guide carefully to manually format ebooks for inclusion in their system and available to the most popular ebookstores.
Find a ebook distributor If you are unable to get approved for a direct account to publish to the major ebookstores, have any issues formatting or limited time to setup accounts from all retailers.
Q.B. Wells is the publisher of Art Official Media LLC and an author living in Baltimore City, Maryland. He has written books (Blackface, Doughboy), book reviews, articles and essays about urban literature and culture for The Urban Book Source, Urbania Magazine and www.UrbaniaMag.com. For a low-cost ebook distributor solution, contact http://www.ArtOfficialmedia.com/contact.html
Seven Places Authors Can Use Smart Phone Credit Card Processors
Seven Places Publishers Can Use the New Smart Phone Credit Card Processors
By Q.B. Wells
Using the smartphone as a credit and debit card processor has made life easier for all business owners but none more than the indie publisher.
Years ago, high fees forced some small publishers to stop using credit card processing terminals. The price of the service far outweighed the sales. The new smart phone app and credit card applications have publishers excited because they can increase sales without the extra upfront cost of being able to accept credit cards.
To take advantage of accepting credit cards. Here are several places to promote your books and sell more product with by accepting credit.
Airport – Sell a book directly to the traffickers at the airport. Approach a potential customer and pitch your book. If they don’t have cash, let them know you accept credit.
Presentation / Lecture – After a quality lecture or presentation, setup your books in the back room on a table and have your credit card stickers available to let people know that you are open for business.
Conference / Expo – Some readers may not carry a lot of cash when at a conference or expo but will have a credit/debit card handy. With a mobile credit card swiper, you won’t miss the opportunity to sell your books at the conference.
Homecoming celebrations- Schedule a vending table or setup a table at the homecoming event. Have the credit card processor available to close the sale.
Flea Market – Increase your ability to turn a profit on your vending table by having the mobile credit card swiper available.
Beauty Salon / Barber Shop – Walk around to the local barber shops and salons in your neighborhood. Pitch the owner and the customers.
Lounge – Arrange a book signing at a lounge. Tell readers and setup your books on the counter or a table. To jazz up the event, get a DJ or hire a live band.
With the Borders bookstores now closing and many other indy bookstores on the way out. Publishers and authors will need to find additional strategies to get the books to readers. The advent of the credit card processing app and free software makes it possible to keep all the options open.
Bio
Q.B. Wells is the publisher of Art Official Media LLC and an author living in Baltimore City, Maryland. He has written books (Blackface, Doughboy), book reviews, articles and essays about urban literature and culture for The Urban Book Source, Urbania Magazine and
www.UrbaniaMag.com. A member of the Independent Book Publishers Association, Q.B. Wells presents workshops on publishing at local community centers and organizations. A visionary and entrepreneur, Q.B. Wells taught with the Baltimore City Public School System for several years before transitioning into teaching writing classes at Towson University. One Hundred Miles and Running (Blackface 2) is his second novel.
Book Publicity: Key Ways to Become an Expert Commentator
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Book Publicity: Key Ways to Become an Expert Commentator
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Want to get featured in more magazines? Then get ready to be an expert.
Now, being an expert is a natural for book authors since nothing positions a person as an expert better than a book. If you’d like to have more magazines and newspapers feature you as an expert commentator in their articles, here is the key action you can take:
1. Get the magazine’s upcoming features list. Most magazine websites and/or advertising kits feature a list of the major articles coming out in future issues. Some magazines even post an annual calendar of their major upcoming features.
2. Select a few articles to comment on. Check out that list of upcoming articles and pick out the ones where you could easily provide comments – and that would be a perfect fit for promoting your book or your expertise.
3. Uncover the writers. Find out which editor or freelance writer is working on the articles that seem most suitable. You may need to call the magazine and ask for this information – or it might be posted on their website.
4. Provide a sample comment. The best way to get noticed by the editor or writer is to send them a one-page pitch letter or email – leading off with a short, pithy, dynamite comment like the kind you could provide for such an article. Be dramatic. Be newsworthy. Be funny. Be short.
Finding More Upcoming Articles
Here are some other ways to track down upcoming articles that you might comment on:
1. Follow up on current articles. When you read an article that would have been a perfect fit for your comments, track down the author and offer to provide comments for a future article. Chances are very good that they are working on similar articles for the that magazine or other magazines they write for.
2. Contact the editor. Contact the editor or articles editor of major magazines where you’d like to be featured. Send them a good bio along with 3 or 4 of your best comments that have already been published in other magazines or newspapers.
3. Send Rolodex cards. Mail key publications Rolodex cards with your expertise printed on the tab of the cards. If you have more than one expertise (e.g., love, divorce, and parenting), send separate Rolodex cards featuring LOVE, DIVORCE, and PARENTING printed on the tabs.
Note: You’d be surprised how many magazine editors and reporters still rely on a printed Rolodex for keeping their key contacts. And, even if they have entered the digital age, the physical Rolodex cards will remind them to enter you into their databases.
Be sure to feature your name, address, phone, cell phone, fax, email, website, time zone, home phone, etc. Give them as many ways as possible to contact you. Even your private email address or your bedside phone number.
4. Follow media Twitter and Facebook streams. You’ll discover many of the articles that editors and freelance writers are already working on by following their social media streams. They might comment on someone they’ve just interviewed for an article. Or they might post a request for assistance. Or they might engage in a conversation with you.
5. Follow their websites. Most media now are placing major emphasis on adding more content to their websites and facilitating social contact with their readers. You’ll find many of the things their editors are interested in simply by following the headlines on the home pages of the magazine websites.
6. Comment on current articles. Most websites now allow – and even encourage – readers to comment on their articles.
Showcase your talent for providing incredible sound bites by commenting on those articles. The editors will soon be tracking you down for more.
Reprinted from Rick Sundays Tips
From my co- author John Kremer http://www.bookmarket.com
“Show Me About Book Publishing” by Judith Briles, Rick Frishman and John Kremer
is your guide to publishing smartly and successfully. “Like” our Facebook page and
get savvy tips that will show you how to stand above the publishing crowd.
http://www.facebook.com/JudithBriles#!/ShowMeAboutBookPublishing
IWrite: Building the Power of YOU by Writing a Book
iWrite: Building The Power of YOU by Writing A Book
Dawn Michelle Hardy
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Have you heard from family members, colleagues and friends who all say they’ve always wanted to write a book. The reasons for wanting to write these books range from bragging rights at the family reunion, quitting the 9-to-5, becoming a world renowned author, something special to show the babies when they get older or to strategically enhance their professional profile. While these are all great inspirations to write a book, as a literary publicist, consultant and associate agent, I see a growing trend toward publishing a book to enhance ones professional profile. Books, whether in physical form or e-book are considered a great tool for most professionals to brand themselves. Writing a book gives you the author the opportunity to express your views and opinions and also share the wealth of knowledge in your area of expertise.
Aside from crafting a great fiction read using your imagination, there are a large group of working professionals including fitness instructors, dentists, consultants, chefs, lawyers, music personalities, etc that are using books as a marketing tool. Books are used to increase clients, gain speaking engagements, obtain teaching positions or raise awareness for company services and products. Branding is key.
Certified personal trainer and founder of Body Sculpt of New York Vincent Ferguson self-published a children’s fitness book titled Get Ready! Get Set! Get Fit!. He uses this as a marketing tool for his fitness workshops and annual Children’s Sports & Fitness Expo held in New York City. In 2010 he appeared on Good Morning America Health to demonstrate some warm-up moves for kids. 
Audrey LeGrand CEO of Innovators and Motivators an Atlanta based human resource consulting firm wrote a book titled How to Get Out of Job Jail. As a self-published author she was featured in Essence Magazine and Essence.com giving readers signs to tell when it’s time to leave the job, along with resume and interview tips. She is known as the “job jail lady” at national career expos and conferences.
President of Serendipity Literary Agency Regina Brooks authored Writing Great Books for Young Adults. Annually she organizes a YA Contest to find great authors of young adult fiction. Journalist Kerika Fields encourages women to get over Mr. Wrong and enjoy life in her self-help read He’s Gone You’re Back . She pens encouraging blogs to empower women past the pain of breakups.
These authors are building their organizations, profiles, clients and appearances by sharing their areas of expertise with readers of books. Books open doors for them to create new relationships, sponsorships, deals and clientele. These authors have garnered national publicity as they took the vision for their books to newer levels. Here are just a few ways that you can market you book and get it in front of the desired target audience to help you bring awareness to who you are and what you have to offer.
Take advantage of the low-cost high-return that social media (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube) offers
Create a consistent message across the board using your logo, website, book cover design, blog
See your book as a commodity and merchandise via tele-classes, audio Cds, special reports, mobile apps,
Remember, in order to stand out from the rest you have to differentiate yourself from what other people in your industry are doing and saying. A book is a perfect platform in which this can be achieved. Present you subject in a way that is unique yet informative. The time is now, breakaway from the crowd, build the power of you by penning you’re book.
He’s Gone You’re Back
http://www.kerikafields.com/thebook.html
How to Get Out of Job Jail
http://www.audreylegrand.com/bookreview.html
Get Ready Get Set Get Fit by Vincent Ferguson
http://www.bodysculpt.org/contactus.htm
Writing Great Books for Young Adults
http://www.sourcebooks.com/store/writing-great-books-for-young-adults.html
Boost Your Business – Five Phone Apps for Credit Card Processing
Boost Your Business- Five Phone Apps for Credit Card Processing
by Q.B. Wells
The ability to accept credit and debit card payments increases sales for any small business. However, the high processing, equipment and monthly maintenance charges for the traditional credit card solutions made accepting credit an expensive business expense.
Smartphones have now become the new credit card terminal.
Now a small business owner has the ability to receive a free merchant account and credit card reader to process credit card payments. Several companies have invented technology to enable an individual to either enter a credit card number into the phone or use the reader to swipe the credit card.
The services are free for sign up and can be setup much faster than traditional merchant accounts. The service has an app to download and setup. The price of processing 2.7% is comparable to other credit card accounts and no minimum charges or maintenance fees apply.
Below are five websites to sign up for a credit card processing account.
1. intuit.com (Intuit)
2. squareup.com (Square)
3. merchantwarehouse.com (Merchant Warehouse)
4. simplyswipeit.com (Simply Swipe It)
5. paywaremobile.com (PAYware Mobile)
I recommend that you research each of the websites and see which of the services best suits your business needs. After you research, sign up and start earning money. With the ability to accept credit and debit cards, more small business owners will not only get increased revenue but less equipment to carry.
Bio
Q.B. Wells is the publisher of Art Official Media LLC and an author living in Baltimore City, Maryland. He has written books (Blackface, Doughboy), book reviews, articles and essays about urban literature and culture for The Urban Book Source, Urbania Magazine and www.UrbaniaMag.com. A member of the Independent Book Publishers Association, Q.B. Wells presents workshops on publishing at local community centers and organizations. A visionary and entrepreneur, Q.B. Wells taught with the Baltimore City Public School System for several years before transitioning into teaching writing classes at Towson University. One Hundred Miles and Running (Blackface 2) is his second novel.
Eight Tips to Make Your Next Writers Conference Awesome!
Eight Tips to Make Your Next Writers Conference Awesome!
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I love going to writers conferences, and it’s really awesome when I’m speaking there as well. But as wonderful as the networking is, if you don’t show up with a plan or a set of action items for the conference, you can get sucked up into the vibe of the event without being very productive. Here are some tips to help you maximize your event!
Goals: Before you go to a writers conference, be clear on your goals. If it’s just networking, that’s great, but if you want to get more than networking out of the event, make sure you establish your specific objectives in advance.
Start networking before the event starts: Now that you’ve gone through the conference website, it’s time to identify the folks you’d like to get to know better and start your networking early. Send them an email and tell them you are looking forward to seeing them at the event, or hearing them speak. Follow them on Twitter and begin to network with them there. Early networking is a great way to get in front of agents and publishers you might not otherwise have access to.
Make appointments early: The conference website should be your new best friend. Comb through it to find names of publishers and agents who are going to be there. Most conferences will offer you publisher or agent appointments so you can present your work, but if you want to coordinate a meeting with someone for any other reason dig through the website to find out who will be there and see if you can get on their calendar. I have shown up at conferences hoping to make appointments there and found that they’re not only difficult to schedule, but often confusing as well. Once you hit the conference floor the momentum of the event takes over, and any appointments that haven’t been confirmed prior to event generally won’t happen.
Take business cards: Make sure you bring a lot of business cards, running out at an event is never good.
Stay organized: I will generally bring some letter-sized envelopes with me to the event and then file cards by session or event so I can keep track of where I collected them. For example, let’s say I went to a big awards dinner and did some networking. If I file all of these in the “Awards dinner” envelope, I can add a personal element to the follow up email like “It was nice to meet you at the awards dinner, wasn’t Marci’s acceptance speech great?”
Easy follow-up: Ok, so you’ve had a great meeting with a publisher and they want to see a chapter of your book. Great! Now what? Take their card, flip it over and jot down a few important notes on the back such as: follow-up steps, short meeting details (“met for lunch”), and anything else you can fit onto the card such as any personal details they shared – like having a daughter who went to the same school as your kids or something like that.
Never eat alone: There’s a great networking book by the same name (Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi, Crown Books) and the statement is true. At a writers conference be sure to grab a table packed with people and even better, don’t sit with the same folks over and over again. Mix it up and meet new people!
Action items: At the end of each conference day, I find it helpful to gather my notes and go through and highlight the important items from the day. I have often waited until I’m on the plane back home, or worse, the Monday following the conference and I generally can’t make heads or tails out of who I am supposed to follow up with at that point. Lesson: do it early while the information is still fresh.
And finally, our bonus tip:
Plan B: If you can’t afford to attend the writers conference that’s in your town here’s an idea for you. When a big conference rolls into town, an author friend of mine will sometimes hang out in the downstairs coffee shop or restaurant at the hotel where the event is being held and network with people there. You never know who you might meet.
Conference follow-up: This is a biggie. Make sure you always follow up with everyone you connected with, especially if you committed to them that you would send them more information, sample chapters, whatever.
Keep the networking going: Relationships take time. Don’t expect miracles when you land at a writers conference. Sometimes great stuff will happen right away, and other times it’s a process. Don’t let the networking end when the function is over. You’re now networking with them online via Twitter and Facebook, and perhaps you have some follow-up to do. Keep on their radar screen and then be on the lookout for future events you can attend!
Writers conferences are a great way to get out there and network, meet your peers and meet agents, publishers, and marketing professionals who can help you publish or market your book. Here are a few for you to consider!
Reprinted from “The Book Marketing Expert newsletter,” a free ezine offering book promotion and publicity tips and techniques. http://www.amarketingexpert.com
Your 10 Point Website Check Up
Your 10 Point Website Check Up
by Penny C. Sansevieri
So you have a website, congratulations! Now let’s make sure it’s doing what it is supposed to be doing for you. Read: selling your book or product. While websites will differ in color, layout, and target audience, there are a few things that need to remain consistent. Let’s take a look at them.
1. Editing: Your website needs to be edited. There is no discussion on this topic at all. And don’t self-edit. Hire someone to go through your site page by page and make sure you don’t have any typos. Finding mistakes on your site is like finding typos on a resume. Doesn’t bode too well, does it?
2. Website Statistics: Do you know your site stats? Did you even know you can get them? Site statistics are part of every website design. If you don’t have access to them, make sure you get this information. A good site stat service is Google Analytics, pretty comprehensive actually and easy to integrate into your site. You should know your traffic patterns and learn to read these reports (it’s a lot easier than it sounds). This way you’ll know what your site is doing and what it isn’t.
3. Media Room: Even if you have never had any TV or radio appearances, you should have a media room. The media room is a great place to list all of your accomplishments as it relates to the book. Also, a good place to put your bio, picture (both of you and the book cover), as well as media Q&A, and a host of other items (I’ll cover the art and science of a good media room in an upcoming piece).
4. Website Copy: Your website isn’t a magazine, people don’t read – they scan – so make sure your site isn’t so crammed with text that it’s not scannable. Ideally your home page should have no more than 200 to 250 words. Also, make sure you have a clear call to action. You want your visitors to do something on your site, yes? Make sure they know what that is, clearly and precisely.
5. Store: Yes, you should have a place for people to buy on your site, even if it means sending them off to Amazon.com or somewhere else to make their purchase. One key factor though: don’t make them hunt for it. Shorten the staircase. In other words, make it easy to find your stuff and then give them the quickest route to get there to purchase the item.
6. Design: I have two major rules in life: you should never cut your own hair and design your own website. Period. End of story. Why? Because much like editing our own books, we’re just too darned close to our message to be able to do it justice. Also, most of us are writers, not designers. Hire someone, invest the money, you’ll be glad you did. When you’re designing, also remember that your homepage should only do one thing. Your website can sell a lot of things, including any consulting or speaking services you offer, but your home page should be focused in on one major item. Surfers spend on average of 1/50th of a second on a website, if they have to stop and try and figure out what your site is about they will leave. I call it surf shock or analysis paralysis. Don’t make them guess what your site is about or you will lose them and they most likely will not return for a second visit.
7. Social content: Make sure that you have something “social” on your site, whether it’s a blog, forum or even your very own social networking page. The easiest and best of these is a blog in my opinion.
8. Update often: Search engines like sites that have a lot of fresh content, this will really help you with ranking in major search engines like Google. If you have a blog you should plan to update it twice weekly at least.
9. Share and share alike: Make sure that your content is easy to share. If you don’t have sharing widgets on your site (Upload to Facebook, Tweet This!, Digg, Delicious, etc.) then get your designer to add it to the site asap. Most blogging software comes with this all ready to go.
Placement and remarketing: First off, make sure that you understand how people surf, meaning where their eyes go to when they land on a website. The first place is the upper left hand quadrant of a site, that’s where your primary message should be placed. Then their eyes go to the center of your site. These two primary places are significant in conversion. You should have a clear message, and a clear call to action (whatever that action may be). I also recommend funneling your visitors into a mailing list. You can do this via a sign-up on your home page and then an ethical bribe to encourage them to sign up. What’s an ethical bribe? It’s something you give them (of value) to get something: you might give them an ebook, a checklist or a special report. Just make sure it’s something your readers want.
10. Bonus Tip: Understanding Anchor Text
If you ask any Search Engine Marketing Expert they will tell you the importance of anchor text. So what is this exactly? It’s the hyperlinked text that you click on to follow a link. Most people overlook this text, using words like “click here” or other nebulous terms. If used correctly, anchor text can really help with your site ranking. It’s not that difficult to implement really, you just need to understand a few basic concepts.
First, anchor text should be descriptive. It should describe the link you’re sending people to using keywords that reflect the page you’re recommending.
Second, if you know the high traffic keywords for your market you can use those as well to describe the link (but only if the keywords relate to the page you’re sending visitors to).
Third, knowing where to use anchor text is almost as important as the text itself. All external links should be anchor text, but often web designers forget internal links (i.e. links leading to pages within your site) although they are equally as important. Your home page is also critical for anchor text links. If you have a blog (and you should) make sure that any article, website or blog you reference has anchor text in the hyperlink.
Creating these hyperlinks is easy, especially if you’re using them in a blog. Most blog software has some very simple one-click anchor text creation widgets.
So take some time and go through your site, make sure that anything you have hyperlinked is anchor text. To reiterate: stay away from nebulous terms like “click here” or “follow this link” because you won’t get picked up by search engines that way. Make sure the text is focused and specific. How long can anchor text be? It doesn’t have to be long, but if need be, it can be multiple words. Keep in mind that as long as the words are relevant to your topic, the anchor text verbiage is all that matters.
To Get An Agent or Not To Get An Agent
To Get An Agent Or Not To Get An Agent
By Joan Meijer
You don’t need an agent to self-publish. You generally do need one to get a major publisher. Sometimes publishing companies approach you if you have established yourself as an expert in your field. Here’s where agents come in handy.
Agents are useful to negotiate your contract with a big company – they usually can’t sell your how-to book much better than you can. Contrary to popular belief agents don’t sell books. Subjects, recognized expertise, great proposals, great writing and connections sell books, but if you don’t use agents in a negotiation there’s a good chance you may lose money – you can bet that publishers come to the table with lawyers.
Because she was so famous that publishers were coming to her with offers, Suzy Prudden’s and my mother, Bonnie Prudden, sold most of her books herself. She didn’t always make the best publishing deals but she made millions on her books. Suzy and I have had both good and bad experiences with agents. One agent I worked with killed a book deal I had gotten by myself. She killed the deal over recording rights, an issue I didn’t remotely care about – she never asked me if it was important to me. The result was I didn’t do business with a company that would have published four books for me. Agents have, on the other hand, gotten more money for us than we would have made for ourselves.
The way to work with agents and lawyers is to make certain they know what YOU want going into a negotiation so they don’t kill deals you don’t want killed for the wrong reasons. If you’re going to self-publish you don’t need an agent. You do need a good editor.
There are books on how to get agents. I have used the Guide to Literary Agents: Where & How to Find the Right Agent to Represent Your Work to great advantage. There are also agents listen in The Writer’s Guide. If you are going to use a book to get an agent, you have to write a zinger of a query letter that lets them know that (a) you have a book a publisher might buy and (b) you are ready, willing and able to self-promote. Self-promotion is the thing that all writers have to be willing to do. That’s setting up book signings, that’s active back of the room sales, that’s creating a high on-line profile, that’s speaking wherever possible. Don’t forget, agents get 15% of your income if you sell to a publisher.
The most important thing that I can tell you about agents is that they know their fields and they have contacts in the publishing world. If you are going after an agent make certain to research what they specialize in because that will be an indication of their contacts. They generally say what they specialize in and you can also tell if you have a fit by looking at the books and authors they have represented. If they are working in the field you are writing in, they know what will sell. They aren’t always good at telling you what is wrong with your book, but you can ferret out the information if you listen carefully and objectively. The absolutely most self-defeating thing you can do is get mad at an agent for giving you honest feedback.
I recently worked with a client who got so angry at an agent for telling him the truth about his book that he had to drop the project. If an agent spends time telling you things, figure out how to use that information and make your project better. One of the reasons that self-publishing has such a bad rap is that authors (a) do not get feedback and (b) do not listen to feedback. If you need to, step back from your project for a month or two before re-reading it. Once you are away from the project for a period of time you get more perspective on it. As a general rule, when you are up close to a project you like it so much you can’t see its flaws. Giving yourself detachment is the best tool you can have to see where you can improve your work. Seek feedback even if you have to pay for it. It’s important. As a general rule, giving yourself time so that you can get your book published is better than rushing your book through and having a product that either won’t get published, or won’t get sales.
There are agents who will charge you to read your book. I have not had a great deal of success with them. They have taken my money and given me nothing of value in return. I don’t mind people no liking what I write as much as I dislike people who take my money and give me nothing valuable in return. I would highly recommend that they are rip offs and to avoid them. If reading your book is their only profit center, they have no incentive to improve it so they can make money getting it published.
Joan Meijer is the author of 15 books including “MetaFitness: Your Thoughts Taking Shape” co-authored with Suzy Prudden, featured on Oprah. Her most recent release is a medical thriller “Tranquillity Initiative” – a five star rated story about an anthrax attack on New York City.” This article is taken from her book “How to Write A Book That Positions You As An Expert In Your Field” available on Kindle.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joan_Meijer
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Fifty Things Under $50 Bucks To Promote Your Book
Fifty Things Under $50 Bucks To
Promote Your Book
These days it seems like everyone’s book marketing budget is a little tighter. If you’re feeling the pinch, or if you’re just looking for some great free stuff to do on your own, here are some tips that could help keep you on track.
1) Buy your domain name as soon as you have a title for your book. You can get domain names for as little as $8.95. Tip: When buying a domain always try to get a .com and stay away from hyphens, i.e. penny-sansevieri.com – surfers rarely remember to insert hyphens.
2) Head on over to Blogger.com or WordPress.com and start your very own blog (you can add it to your Web site later).
3) Set up an event at your neighborhood bookstore. Do an event and not a signing, book signings are boring!
4) Write a few articles on your topic and submit them onto the Internet for syndication. You can submit them to sites like www.ezinearticles.com and www.articlecity.com.
5) Check out your competition online and see if you can do some networking.
6) Do some radio research and pitch yourself to at least five new stations this week.
7) Ready to get some business cards? Head on over to Vistaprint.com. The cards are free if you let them put their logo on the back, if you don’t they’re still really inexpensive.
Put together your marketing plan. Seriously, do this. If you don’t know where you’re going, any destination will do.
9) Plan a contest or giveaway. Contests are a great way to promote your book.
10) Google some topic-related online groups to see if you can network with them.
11) Send thank you notes to people who have been helpful to you.
12) Send your book out to at least ten book reviewers this week.
13) Do a quick Internet search for local writers’ conferences or book festivals you can attend.
14) Create an email signature for every email you send; email signatures are a great way to promote your book and message.
15) Put the contents of your Web site: book description, bio, Q&A, and interviews on CD to have on hand when the media comes calling!
16) Submit your Web site to the top five directories: Google, MSN, Alexa, Yahoo, and DMOZ.
17) Write a great press release and submit it to free online press release sites like: PR4 – http://www.prlog.org/ , http://www.1888pressrelease.com/, http://i-newswire.com/, http://www.prfocus.com/
18) Write your bio and have someone who can be objective critique it; you’ll need it when you start pitching yourself to the media.
19) Schedule your first book event!
20) Start your own email newsletter; it’s a great way to keep readers, friends and family updated and informed on your success.
21) Start a Twitter account and begin tweeting. If you don’t think Twitter is significant, think again; it’s been a major part of our marketing strategy for over 2 years now (before anyone even knew what Twitter was).
22) Develop a set of questions or discussion topics that book clubs can use for your book, and post them on your Web site for handy downloads.
23) Add your book info or URL to your answering machine message.
24) Start a Facebook Fan page. Fan Pages are much better than groups because they’re searchable in Google.
25) See if you can get your friends to host a “book party” in their home. You come in and discuss your book and voila, a captive audience!
26) Find some catalogs you think your book would be perfect for and then submit your packet to them for consideration. If you’re unsure of what catalogs might work for you, head on over to http://www.catalogs.com/ and peruse their list.
27) Go around to your local retailers and see if they’ll carry your book; even if it’s on consignment, it might be worth it!
28) Add your book to Google Book Search.
29) Research some authors with similar subjects and then offer to exchange links with them.
30) Start a Squidoo page and make sure it’s linked to your Twitter Account and Facebook Fan page.
31) Make sure your blog is connected to Amazon via their Amazon connect program (yes, it’s free).
32) Ask friends and family to email five people they know and tell them about your book.
33) Leave your business card, bookmark, or book flyer wherever you go.
34) Subscribe to Google Alerts and make sure that you are getting alerts under your name as well as your book title(s), brand, and keywords.
35) Pitch yourself to your local television stations.
36) Pitch yourself to your local print media.
37) Work on the Q&A for your press kit. You’ll need it when you start booking media interviews!
38) Pitch Oprah. Go ahead, you know you want to.
39) Is the topic of your book in the news? Check your local paper, and write a letter to the editor to share your expertise (and promote your book!).
40) Stop by your local library and see if you can set up an event. They love local authors.
41) Do you want to get your book into your local library system? Try dropping off a copy to your main library; if they stock it chances are the other branches will too.
42) Go to Chase’s Calendar of Events (www.Chases.com.) and find out how to create your own holiday!
43) Going on vacation? Use your away-from-home time to schedule a book event or two.
44) If your book is appropriate, go to local schools to see if you can do a reading.
45) Got a book that could be sold in bulk? Start with your local companies first and see if they’re interested in buying some promotional copies to give away at company events.
46) Don’t forget to add reviews to your Web site. Remember that what someone else has to say is one thousand times more effective than anything you could say!
47) Trying to meet the press? Search the Net for Press Clubs in your area, they meet once a month and are a great place to meet the media.
48) Want a celebrity endorsement? Find celebs in your market with an interest in your topic and then go for it. Remember all they can say is no. Check out the Actors Guild for a list of celeb representatives.
49) Ready to get some magazine exposure? Why not pitch some regional and national magazines with your topic or submit a freelance article for reprint consideration?
50) Work on your next book. Sometimes the best way to sell your first book is by promoting your second.
Penny C. Sansevieri
The Cliffhanger was published in June of 2000. After a strategic marketing campaign it quickly climbed the ranks at Amazon.com to the #1 best selling book in San Diego. Her most recent book: From Book to Bestseller was released in 2005 to rave reviews and is being called the “roadmap to publishing success.” Penny is a book marketing and media relations specialist. She also coaches authors on projects, manuscripts and marketing plans and instructs a variety of coursing on publishing and promotion. To learn more about her books or her promotional services, you can visit her web site at www.amarketingexpert.com. To subscribe to her free ezine, send a blank email to: mailto:subscribe@amarketingexpert.com
Copyright © 2006 Penny C. Sansevieri
