Archive - Emails from Lisa, Group Leader

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Copen on July 15, 2010 at 1:13pm

SENT 7/15

Dear friends,

This is Lisa from the Book Marketing Network where I began the Christian Author Connection Group a few years ago. We have about 320 members and I am very proud to be a part of this group and where it is heading!

You may have noticed that my activity here goes in spurts. My main ministry and books revolve around chronic illness issues and that is where my energy usually goes to on a daily basis. I see so much potential in this group, and yet, I know that everyone is busy, and it seems that frequently the only people who take the time to post are searching for ways to market their services to us authors.

So there are some changes taking place around this group that I am excited to share with you in a few minutes.

One of the reasons I love book marketing is that I have done it by trial and error and have had the experience of learning from my successes - and failures! I've done all of my own marketing for my nonprofit organization, including building our websites, stores, designing promotional items, etc. since 1996.

It is a joy to see a need that is not being filled, and be able to fulfill that need, whether that be through books, programs, workbooks, speaking, etc.

Often times, I hear Christians say "Well, I wrote the book like God told me to. Now I will just wait for Him to sell it. If He wants it to sell, it will. . . and I KNOW He does!"

Sadly, many of these people are disappointed when their publisher calls to tell them that the book is going out of print; or if they self-published the book, the boxes stack up in the corner of their garage.

*** When God gives you a passion and desire to write a book about a topic, I believe that you should not only fulfill that calling to write the book, but that you should be eager and enthusiastic about getting your book into the hands of people you wrote it for. ***

Here are a few the reasons I believe that the Christian Author Connection group can be one of the strongest groups here at the Book Marketing Network.

[1] We have the ability to network with each other without being afraid of competition. We know that God gave each of us individual callings and experiences in order to fulfill the purpose He has called us to. If someone else has been called to write a book on a similar topic, the odds are that if we partner with the person, both of us will probably sell MORE books than we would have on our own!

[2] We genuinely care about one another --as well as Christian bookstore owners and the industry. Most of us have not written a book because we are trying to get rich quick. We have not been promised by our publisher that there will be large posters in Barnes & Noble with our face. We are not expecting our book to hit the New York Times bestseller list next week. There could be posters, and God could help us out by placing it on the bestseller lists. But I think I can sincerely say that most of us have (or should have!) the attitude of grace and wanting to see others succeed. Part of this includes helping our small Christian bookstore owners, encouraging one another in our writing and marketing efforts. By sharing our resources, experiences, successes, failures, connection, and more, we can not only help our own book sell better, but also help others.

If you look around the Christian author connection website today, many of you may be disappointed to find your sales messages had been deleted. To be honest, the website was a disaster. If someone wanted to find something it would be hard to find it even if it was posted on the website because many of us have been over-using the comments section on the first page.

There are a great many of topics that we can discuss, as well as places where we can share our resources. For example, one discussion group has been started where I would like to see anyone post the front cover of their book. On another discussion I would like to see anyone post links or photos of their sell sheets. By putting these things on the page in an organized fashion weekend much more effectively help one another. Have you been to a writers conference you would like to recommend? There is a place for that.

I will continue to add discussion topics (I have a list ready to go) where I hope you will take even just a few minutes each week to post some feedback or something about your experience. We can only learn from one another by sharing our experiences and our resources. This group is NOT meant to be a place where those with services try to sell us on them -- and nothing else!

So here is my new policy for the Christian Author Connection regarding advertising. (and yes, this is harsh)
At this time, there is a discussion area for anyone who is offering services such as editing, video trailers, marketing packages, etc. If you post any kind of message about your services in any other area of the website, it will be deleted. Our authors are eager to find resources and people who we can trust with our marketing plans, so I have created a "discussion" topic" where "advertisers" may post about their services. If you are an advertiser and you post elsewhere in our forums, it will be assumed that we should not consider your services since you are unable to follow our guidelines. Enough said?

On a happier note, I am so excited about all of the topics that we have already available to start exchanging information on and I see the great potential this group has to not only become a leader in the Book Marketing Network -- but also be able to sell more books, hence, reach more people with the love of the Lord.

Remember that the Book Marketing Network is a secular group and as Christians we are being observed. What do we do differently? What makes our life different? How do you plan your marketing campaign as a child of Christ differently than someone else in the network who is trying to sell their book on successfully making a living at gambling? When you're making posts, please remember that you are representing our Savior and do it to the best of your ability.

So drop on by today and feel free to post whatever information you can share with us. If you have a topic you would like to see us discuss, feel free to let me know. If you believe you are an expert in a particular area and would like to contribute more heavily in your area of expertise, I am open to any suggestions.

Blessings,

Lisa Copen

Permalink Reply by Lisa Copen on August 4, 2010 at 3:11pm

SENT 8/4

Hi, friends,
Just a personal thanks for the people in our group who have stopped by and visited and added content to our newly organized group.

And I loved hearing from Lynn! She said, "Wow! This is one of the most informative sites (groups) I have ever been involved with! Thanks for the encouragement and the helpful tips, etc."

Be sure to drop by sometime this week and at least choose one discussion topic to add to. Share a little bit about yourself and the genre you write in, share a resources you are realizing you could not live without, whatever!

I LOVE John's site here for the Book Marketing Network, but while cleaning up our group, I couldn't help but notice other groups also had a lot of spam, ramblings, disorganization. Imagine if people came over to our Christian group to see an example of how well a group can work!

Thanks for all your help and input!
Lisa Copen

Permalink Reply by Lisa Copen on August 20, 2010 at 12:44am

SENT 8/18/2010

Hi, friends,
Thanks for dropping by the Christian Author Connection and sharing your resources, insights, tips and questions.

I would love to hear if any of you have or are considering using a portion of your book as a free download? Have your publishers asked you about putting it for free or $.99 on kindle for a short time? Have you tried posting portions of your book on your blog... and has it helped you sell more books?

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences!

Come share today at
http://bookmarket.ning.com/group/christianauthorsconnection/forum/t...

Blessings,

Lisa Copen