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What's Your Biggest Challenge with Your Book?

I'd be interested to learn what authors/publishers on this network think their biggest challenges are with their book. I wonder if there's any common, pervasive challenge we all face.

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Book reviews are the least expensive and best way to market your book. A good review helps sell books. A colleague of mine wrote a book and received one positive review from Library Journal that helped her sell three thousand books her first year.

Book reviews do influence buyers. I know I am influenced to buy a book if it has a review from a person I respect or a member of an organization I support.

Studies have shown that book buyers exhibit similar patterns when looking at books. Most books are show "spine out" in the bookstores. A buyer will take the book off the shelf, spend five to seven seconds looking at the front, and nine to twelve seconds looking at the back of the book. Typically, a buyer will read the benefit statement at the top of the back cover and move to the reviews. If there is a review from someone they know of or respect, it causes the buyer to stop to consider buying the book.

In a time starved world, if there is a review on the back of a book from an author or person known to the buyer, it accelerates the buying process. A good recommendation takes some of the guess work out of choosing a book. In book super stores that stock between 80,000-125,000 books, a good review separates one book from the others that don't have such a review. It's nearly impossible to know whether or not a book will be good or not before reading it. A good review minimizes the risk of buying a book that you won't enjoy. With the myriad of choices a consumer has to spend money on entertainment, a good review may be the determining factor that causes the potential buyer to buy the book.
And the best way to get reviews..??? I know sending copies to reviewers is a long and arduous task..and not always productive. ANy suggestions???
I found the one biggest challenge was marketing the book, even though I worked hard on the book and did a million re-write. Since I am fairly new to the Internet groups, this has really been hard and a lot of work, but I'm not complaining. It's all worth it.
It is all about marketing the book..and trust me it is a relentless pursuit if you want to sell your book..Do something everyday...internet, calls, anything toget your name out carolstanley author of For Kids 59.99 and Over
Susan—
Marketing your book can be one of the most enjoyable parts of the publishing odyssey. Your book will appeal to readers just like you. Connecting with those readers will be like connecting with friends you have not met, yet. To find readers like you, think of the places you like to visit, the web sites that enjoy and the magazines you like to read. Your readers will enjoy similar pursuits.

One simple tactic to help market your book is to set up Google Alerts on you, your name and all the topics related to your book. Google will send you an alert every time one of your topics pops up in the Google rankings.

You can go to web sites that mention you or your topic and comment on what you read. Remember to include a by-line in every comment you post that links back to your web page or Amazon page. Contact the web master or article writer to see if they can use you as an expert on the topic.

Responding to the Google Alerts allows you to get immersed in your subject matter and establish yourself as an authority among people interested in your topic.
I have been doing google alerts for months...and I do at least ten comments a day, have met networking friends and all in all it is a great marketing tool. carol author of For Kids 59.99 & Over. www.carolstanley1.com
How do I respond to Google Alerts? I put in the "News" block...Book Signing with my email. What happens after that. I get very confused on this. If I can understand the steps, I would be on my way of opening doors.
How you respond to Google Alerts depends on the Alert itself. Many times, the Google alert is picking up on some key event in your market. For instance, I have Google Alerts for my company and my name. I want to see what's being said about my company and me on the Internet. How I respond to those Google alerts depends on what is said on what web site or blog.

I also have Google alerts about my topic. I read what the alert tells me about my subject. Then, I may go to the blog or website and comment on what I read. Or, I may contact whomever wrote the piece to compliment them on what they wrote. I also include information about me in the Author Block on my comment. I may also offer myself up as an expert for any future writings that writer may do as a follow-up to the original message.
My biggest challenge is finding the right publisher to represent me. After many rejection letters, I decided to "Self Assist Publish" my book. I did a lot of research but, (this is where I take responsibility), I didn't WANT to see the red flags. The publisher I chose talked a good game, but after a couple of months, I noticed cracks. In a candid conversation, she admit that she didn't read my manuscript. I was crushed. She further admit that she doesn't like scary vampire stories. My book be called The MPire, she thought that it was a scary book. I admit vampires stories scary me too, but I like it. Nevertheless, research and ask MANY questions. Furthermore, wait out the questions, maybe even re-ask them in a different way.

tl james
www.mpireonline.com
TL—
What are you doing since you learned your publisher didn't read your manuscript? Are you locked into a contract with that publisher? Or, are you looking for another publisher?

You may want to go to the library and check out the Literary Marketplace (LMP, for short) from the Reference Desk. Most all public libraries have one. In LMP you can find publishers by genre. It gives all the contact information for publishers listed there. Contact those publishers that specialize in vampire fiction. Good luck with your book.
Hi TL,
Yes, one of the pitfalls of fee-based/POD publisher is that it is easy to get startd now with the available print technologies, but not as easy to actually run a publishing biz.

Also, providing no editing is quite common and one of the reasons this option is frowned upon by many in the industry. Unfortunately, it's not always the author's fault when they're caught up in a situation like yours. You should be able to trust the business to guide you, but as you've seen unfortunately, sometimes it's the blind leading the blind.

If you want to continue with the fee-based option, try Dehanna.com for a database that compares many of them. Another comparison source is The Fine Print by Mark Levine. Still not foolproof and you should research beyond that with authors and the company websites, but you'll at least have a starting point.

I really hope you get everything straightened out so that you can move forward with confidence.


Cheryl Pickett
www.publishinganswers.com
Bill:
I would say the greatest challenge I have faced with my book, is both time (management) and (the lack of) money to effectively market my book.

Proud Souls has sold. Proud Souls has all the potential and abilities (as fans have proven this point) to sale a substantial amount of copies. What I don't have is the financial resources to market the book effectively; I don't have a means to get Proud Souls in the faces of people looking for a new fiction novel by a new fiction writer.

The work involved in promoting a book LONG AFTER IT HAS BEEN MADE AVAILABLE TO AN AUDIENCE is by far the greatest challenge to us all. It took four months to write the draft for my novel and then I spend another (roughly) eight months re-writing the story and proofing and editing the work before final editing was done. And that is a headache in itself...BUT...nothing near the agonies associated with trying to find the right approach to get your book in the hands of the ONLY people who will make or break a novel--READERS.

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