Promoting Your "Amazon Published" Book or eBook Online

By Dan Grijzenhout 

You've just gone through the work and the excitement of completing your first book or e-book and you are ready to showcase it to the world. Now, you have to get the word out and try to get some buyers for it. This by the way, is just as strenuous if not even more so than writing the book in the first place. You will realize soon enough that you have to dig deep within yourself to market what you have created to others to make the sales. One author I know when once asked how his books managed to sell so well said. "It's easy. Write it, put it in a place where people can buy it, and then promote the heck out of it for about 3 years."

In this article I don't plan to discuss the myriad of things you can do outside of the Internet to promote your creation such as book signings, getting a table at trade fairs to showcase your book and give away autographed copies, trying to get retailers to sell it (if you've created a bound version of it), etc. The tips provided below are written to help you get maximum publicity for your book or e-book online.

Let's start with building your online selling strategy. Where will you put your book to sell it?

The most popular choice on the Internet is Amazon. This is a very good first step for many books, particularly e-books. Amazon owns Kindle Books, the defacto leader in E-Book marketing and distribution. The whole world has heard of Kindle and there are literally millions of Kindle Readers out there that people can use to read your e-book not to mention that Kindle book reading software is available for computers, tablets and even mobile devices - so it is very easy to distribute and make your creation accessible to others. Amazon also owns "Create Space", a second entity that can turn your E-book into a bound book that can also be sold on Amazon-Kindle and through distributors globally. If you want to "pay-market" your book through Amazon? You can do that as well through building one of their economically priced advertising campaigns.

Going through this process also gets you an ASIN number for your book or an ISBN number for your book if you wish to go that route (needed for selling hard-copy books through Create Space but not for e-books just sold on Amazon-Kindle). You can enroll your book as well into the Kindle KDP Select program which is like an online library that people pay a monthly subscription to and you can get additional royalty payments for your book from here - based on number of pages read. You can also get promotional banners from Amazon that you can put on your website or blogsite and even send in e-mails to people to further promote your book.

Bottom line is that starting out, Amazon - Kindle has a lot to offer a new self-publisher. You can literally get your book out there in under a week and start making money from it if people purchase it.

But you will need to do further work to get your book to actually sell and start earning you revenues. Your book will get onto Amazon OK, but it has to be seen and desired in order for you to make sales. There are books that have sat there for years without any sales at all so don't think your done once you get your book published and onto the site. You have to help the sales happen by promoting it. So below is a list of things you should also be doing yourself online to get people to your Amazon purchased page to buy your book.

• Be sure you build out your Author profiles on Amazon Central and on book review sites such as "Good Reads". On Good Reads, also be sure to get your book into their "Listopia" program - so learn how to do that. Find other similar Author sites and get your name out there as well.


• Consider getting out an online press release on your book as well. Make sure it has back links to where people can view and purchase your book. Take a look at "Reddit" as one possible site for this.


• Promote your book on different social media platforms such as Pinterest, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, etc.


• Consider building a YouTube channel and creating a promotional video for your book with linkbacks to where your book can be purchased.


• Create your own "Author" blog-site to further promote your book. Traverse the Internet to get linkbacks to your site or book through guest posting, article writing, etc.


• Get an automated e-mail marketing and autoresponder system in place and use it to help promote your book - build your e-mail subscriber lists!


• Consider getting a podcast series going on iTunes where you can have "podcast discussions" about the content of your book. FYI - Once you get some of these built, stick an image of your book in front of them and upload these to your YouTube channel as well as "Video Podcasts".


• Keep posting and guest posting and getting yourself out there with people. The more people that know about you and your book, the better your sales will be. Build relationship bridges with other authors (EzineArticles and Good Reads are good places to do this), with book reviewers, people knowledgeable in your "book space", etc. Get known out there.


• Build a Facebook business page for your book and put your author "Good Reads" button onto your Facebook pages that can bring people back to your Author page at GoodReads. Promote your book on Facebook using the "Boost Post" feature - this is a very economical marketing platform with great targeting capabilities.


• Be sure to get on Google+ and build out your profile there. Then, search for and join several communities relating to your topic area and also relating to other authors - become a positive content contributor to these communities.

In summary, if you can get through all the above steps for promoting your book online, you will be well on your way of starting to build the base needed to start earning revenues for your book. Best of luck to you in your writing career.

About Dan Grijzenhout: Dan has lived a successful entrepreneurial career for over 30 years. He has been a consultant, entrepreneur, systems architect and developer, investor, business owner and is now an author, online course creator and teacher, sharing his years of experience and knowledge with others. Search for the name - Dan Grijzenhout - on Amazon to see his available books and e-books.

You can find Dan's available online courses at https://www.udemy.com/user/dan-grijzenhout/
And Dan's articles and blog posts at http://howto-guru.com/Home.php/

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Dan_Grijzenhout/2147833

E-Books: Value and Price

By Irene Watson 

For the last several years, the debate has raged over e-book pricing. What is the best price? What is the customer willing to pay? What should the government and courts do to monitor the situation? It can all be confusing and put authors into a tailspin.

While the courts, online retailers, and large publishing companies continue to argue and battle it out, what is the independent author supposed to do? No one has all the answers, but some common sense, a little experimenting with prices, and some knowledge of the industry can help you determine an appropriate price for your e-book. Remember, there is no perfect price for every book; what is a good price for one book may not be the right price for another.

Here are some questions to consider when determining the price for your e-book:

What is the value of your book?

You need to determine your book's value before you set the price. Did you write a short erotic novel to compete with the other one million out there that you spent maybe a month or less writing? Then its value is probably fairly low because it may not be in great demand. Are you writing a specialized thesis on a topic that has never had a book published on it before-then the value may be very high, although your reading audience may be small. Did you spend ten years writing and researching your book, or did you write it in a week? Can your readers easily get the information in your book elsewhere?

I once told an author her one hundred page history book was overpriced. She replied, "What do you think my book is worth when I spent five years writing and working on it?" Obviously, she perceived her book's value as high, but her readers, seeing a slim volume that won't take long to read, may not see it as so valuable. Consider also the value of your reader's time. Will your reader think it worthwhile to pay $9.99 for something that takes an hour to read? Perhaps time is more valuable than money to your reader so he won't want to pay $9.99 for what he may perceive as ten hours of work reading your book but he would pay $2.99.

If you insist your book's value warrants a higher price, you could be right, but you will need to convince your reader of that value through your marketing efforts.

What is the most and least you can charge for your e-book?

Never should you price your e-book over $9.99. While a few major publishers can get away with higher prices for best-selling authors, $9.99 is the limit for most of us because Amazon decided that $9.99 was the cut off for paying out higher royalties. Books priced between $2.99 and $9.99 will receive 70 percent royalties from Amazon, while those over will receive a lower royalty of 35 percent, meaning your $15.00 book will earn you only about $5.00 as opposed to $7.00 for your $9.99 priced book. I won't speak to every e-book retailer's pricing model here; you'll want to look at them individually, but $9.99 is definitely the highest you should go.

The advantage to pricing high is more money per book, but it also means you will likely sell less books. That said, lower priced books might be seen as of less value-being from unknown authors, poorly written, or simply short. To me, anything priced under $2.99 I automatically think must be of lesser quality and that even the author doesn't perceive its value as high.

If you're an established author, a middle price of $3.00-$6.99 is reasonable for an e-book and probably will not dissuade most readers from buying your book. Only if you have a book the reader will perceive as having high value should you price it in the $7.00-$9.99 range. A book in that price range should have the value of information worth buying, or you should be a well-established author with a large following-meaning thousands of readers.

How many books do you want to sell?

If you price your book at $0.99, you'll need to sell ten e-books to equal if you had priced it at $9.99. Possibly, the lower price will make your book attractive enough that you can sell ten times as many books, as if you had left the price at $9.99. If you can sell ten books at $0.99, wouldn't you be better off because now you have ten readers more likely to read your future books so you can price those higher?

What does the competition charge?

Look up other books in your genre. If you're a new romance author, what are other new romance authors charging? If you're writing your third business book and your first one became recognized in the industry, you can probably afford to price your business e-book higher. Price at or slightly lower than the competition for books in the same genre or similar to yours. If a reader sees two books about Lady Jane Grey, and yours is a dollar lower, unless the other book appears to have more information, yours is the one likely to be bought.

Where are your readers buying their books?

While I doubt many of the e-book sellers out there are spending time comparing what you're selling your e-book for at various online stores, you probably want to be fair in charging the same price across the board. That said, just because your book is at Amazon doesn't mean that's where your readers are going to buy it, so make sure you sell it at many sites-Barnes & Noble, Kobo (the Canadian e-book seller), and Google Play (where people with Android phones and tablets are buying). Are you selling to the twenty-year old who is likely to buy at Google Play or are you selling to senior citizens who might prefer to buy at Amazon, which is more familiar to them? Make sure your book is at all places and then price accordingly. Your twenty-year old is a college student with little money so $0.99 is a better price for him, but then most e-book sellers will want you to sell for the same price at all their stores.

Do you have more than one book, especially a series?

If you have more than one book, consider pricing one lower. If you've written a series, you might want to give away or price low the first book in the series to sell it. Then if you hook readers with it, they will want to read the rest of the series. If you've written multiple books but not a series, I recommend pricing the book you and other readers consider your very best book as the lowest because after all, you want your very best to be what people first experience so you give the best impression and win them over as future readers.

Could you serialize your book, or sell it in individual chapters?

Serialized books-especially novels-have been around for centuries, and recently, more and more authors have started to sell their books as chapters or short installments. If you've written a short book-up to fifty pages or so-and it works as a stand-alone piece, price it low, such as at $1.99, and then continue the series at the same price or slightly higher. The reader will be more likely to buy four books at that lower price, if he likes the first one, than buy one book for $7.96 when he isn't sure he'll like it, and you'll still make $7.96 if he ends up buying all four.

How good are you at marketing your book?

Marketing is the bottom line. Whether you price high or low, just because you've written a book and made it an e-book doesn't mean anyone is going to read it. Yes, someone might stumble upon it at an online bookstore and buy it, but if you make a true effort to market it, you're going to sell more books. If you are good at marketing, you will be able to promote your book as having value and being entertaining, and then perhaps you can price it higher because of that perceived value and higher interest. If you're not going to spend much time marketing, then price low so the lower prices can help to compensate for your lack of marketing efforts.

Don't Be Left Behind

No hard rules exist for e-book pricing. Every author needs to determine what works best for his or her individual situation. Try pricing high, and if your books don't sell, try pricing lower. Be aware of trends or reasons why your e-book might be more popular one month than another-if you're writing about the American Revolution, you might sell more e-books in June and July around Independence Day than you will in February-so maybe you lower or raise the price accordingly at such times. Develop a strategy, stick with it for a few months, then reassess and readjust your prices accordingly. Whatever you do, remember that e-book sales are now starting to outpace printed book sales, so don't be left behind by ignoring the e-book pricing question.

Irene Watson is the Managing Editor of Reader Views, where avid readers can find reviews of recently published books as well as read interviews with authors. Her team also provides author publicity and a variety of other services specific to writing and publishing books.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Irene_Watson/17463

How to Start Your Own at Home Book Store

By Steve Johnson 

Running your own home book store is fun, profitable and an ideal choice for many people who want to start a low-risk home business. You can start part-time, avoiding the high cost of storefront rent, yet at the same time you can sell used books, textbooks and music CDs and to anyone, anywhere across the country or around the world if you choose.

The actual number of books you need to get started with your own home-based book store varies by how fast you want to get going. You could start with 100 books -- you'll probably sell 10-15% of the books you list within the first month -- so if you want to sell more and grow your business quicker, then it will be better to have 1,000 or more used books on hand before you start. Don't be afraid to start with the books you already own, but stay on the lookout for more quick sellers to expand your business.

FUNDING A HOME-BASED USED BOOKSTORE

Start-up funding will likely be a bootstrap venture in most cases. Two-thirds of all business start-ups like a home book store get funded by credit card cash advances, tapping into savings accounts, or borrowing from a rich uncle in the family. Bank loans and grants to get started are almost unheard of.

One tip to raise cash: Sell something you don't need any longer -- furniture that's in the way, clothes you don't wear any longer, maybe hold a garage sale one weekend and clear the clutter around your house -- and reinvest the proceeds into building your home book store.

You don't need much money to get started.

If you're starting out on a shoestring, I recommend starting with whatever you have. List your books, college textbooks, music CDs or technical hobby manuals on the Amazon Marketplace, and begin learning what sells and what doesn't.

You won't make a fortune. But you'll learn valuable experience in how this business works. You can then parlay that experience and profit into a larger business as you add more used book stock to your inventory.

Getting started selling is easy. Just log onto the Amazon website and get your seller account up and running in a matter of minutes.

STOCK UP ON MERCHANDISE THAT SELLS

Next: Give yourself a goal. For instance, plan on spending two hours every weekend for the next three months, scouring yard sales and thrift stores to locate at least 25 books, while paying no more than 50 cents each. By month four, you will then have found 300 or more good books, and you'll only have invested about $150, some gas for driving around, and $50 for a couple sturdy bookshelves to hold your new inventory.

Tip: Use your cellphone with Internet access to pull up Amazon used book pricing when you are scouting out books for resale. If the pricing for like books is good -- $7 or more - buy the book. You'll very often be able to list it and sell it for more than $10-$15, and if you buy it for 50 cents or less at a garage sale, you'll make deliciously good margins this way without getting stuck with stinkers!

But mistakes happen. If you do come home with books that you want to get rid of that you can't use in your home bookstore, take them to a local used bookstore and ask the owner if they'll trade for books you can add to your inventory. Sometimes if you're lucky the owner will buy your unwanted books by offering store credit for books he or she doesn't want to carry any longer.

Another goal: Show up for work! Get out your calendar. Write in daily goals. Set aside time early each morning or late at night when you get home from your job, log into your account to check orders and e-mail messages, and go to work listing or revising your listings.

My motto is, "You can't do everything at once, but you can do one thing at once." Do one thing. Then the next. And the next. By giving yourself certain hours when you need to be working for yourself in your own home-based business, you'll be amazed how much more you will get accomplished.

WHERE TO START?

Right now, start with the books you already own, and add to them by attending library booksales and fund-raisers, estate sales, thrift stores and even search for them online or through newspaper classified ads. You'll be surprised to find good used books are all around you.

Post your own free classified ad stating that you buy used books, and list the subjects you are most interested in, but don't be surprised if the people who contact you have an inflated value of their books' worth. Be in control. State that you can pay a flat fee for their entire lot of books -- example, $25 for a lot of 50 books. Make sure those 50 books contain at least $500 in retail value, because all of them will not sell.

Concentrate buying trade paperbacks in the non-fiction arena. These sell well in almost all condition. If you specialize in certain fields like architecture, history, how-to, UFO's or the like, keep adding new titles to your stock at all times. Write newspaper and magazine articles related to your expertise. Publish press releases for local media about your new venture.

Post your finds to your Facebook friends or your Twitter followers. One cool feature of posting books in the Amazon Marketplace is that with one simple click of a button, it allows you to automatically post your new listing to Facebook or Twitter, saving you lots of time.

If you do wind up concentrating on buying and selling First Editions, do your homework first. Become an expert in the field. There's a lot to know and you should know that on Amazon, the typical used book seller is not even permitted to list collectible books, so that avenue is closed to you until you prove some authority or certification.

LEARN THESE BASICS OF BOOKSELLING

To get started in your new venture, here are six simple tips to keep in mind:

1. Learn the book trade and terminology. Study everything you can and add to your knowledge each day.

2. Do make sure you have a sufficient number of titles. The more books you have to sell the better. People want to buy now. They won't wait around until you find the title. They'll just move on to the next Internet seller.

3. Be thorough and accurate in your descriptions, revealing any and all flaws in the condition of the book. Don't be afraid to list your book one step down in condition to stay on the safe side (example: if you have a book in "Very Good" condition, consider listing it in "Good" condition so as to delight the average book buyer, and not disappoint the discriminating book buyer. Better safe than sorry.

4. Do your homework. If you describe a book as a First Edition, be sure that it is one. If you don't know how to tell for certain, then don't add this detail.

5. Learn the basics of how publishers insert the bibliographical descriptions in the front section of books. These identify to collectors the year of copyright, the print edition, who the publisher is, the ISBN (10-digit ID number for books that you will use often to search up values and availability of books) and more.

6. Determine where to purchase good, clean used books and how to negotiate for the best pricing.

These are your keys to making maximum profits in your own home book store. With time and effort you can learn how to make money in this simple home business.

Steve Johnson is the writer and publisher who founded FindHow2.com, which offers free "how-to" articles on a wide variety of do-it-yourself topics such as restoring good credit, reducing credit card debt and improving your personal finances. A sample chapter of his newest e-book "How To Make Easy Money Selling Your Old Used Books On Amazon" (read the reviews here) can be read for free in the Kindle E-Book Store at Amazon.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Steve_Johnson/29210

Need Ideas For A Book?

By Earma Brown 

Have you felt your book would get lost in an over-crowded book market? A friend of mine said, "I'll probably never write a book because there are already too many books on every subject I can think of writing about."

The truth is lots of successful authors have felt their idea for a book too small in the LARGE scheme of things. Even so, at some point they had to realize what I'm about to share with you, "With all the wonderful and not so wonderful books in the marketplace, there's only one voice that's uniquely yours. I am convinced there are people waiting for your perspective, your solution, and even your book. They're waiting to be inspired, entertained or helped by YOUR book. They may even be looking for you and your ideas."

Well, this is what my tips are all about today, how to know if the book idea you are planning to write has a chance to stand-out and sell. After all, even if it's the tiniest of markets it will have to compete for proper attention in this hi-tech world? For your book to be able to compete in a world like ours today, you must target a niche market (people to sell your book to) interested in your book.

After pinpointing a market, develop a way of making your book different. You need a different viewpoint, a niche, or a different spin on perhaps the same information. Examine the problem again. Look at the solution your book idea solves with the goal of coming up with a way to present your knowledge differently than existing books.

Here are ten ideas for a book that stands out in a crowd and sells:

1. Business/Job Experience: If you have ten years or more of job experience, you could consider writing a book centered around your job. Even a previous job or business would fit the bill. For example, a couple of aspiring book writers sold their successful retail business to retire. They had tons of retail ownership tips to share and experience from mistakes they made along the way to success. New franchise owners and general retail owners would love to read their inspiring stories and tips to gain the same success. My advice was, "Go for it! Start writing now."

2. Your Course: Compile your new book around a course you have taught for years. You already love the subject matter. Take your existing lessons and even lesson plans and form them into a book. If you are a stronger speaker than writer, consider taping your lesson presentations and getting them transcribed. Then hire a ghostwriter to take the transcriptions and develop into a book. I encourage you to not just take the transcript and copy into book form. But charge the writer or yourself to write it into a book using conversational language.

3. Life experiences: Use a life experience and form a book around it. Memoirs are good books to form out of life experiences. But they are not the only ones; you can use an experience of overcoming an insurmountable problem to inspire others. For example, if you got well from a major disease or any trauma like a car wreck. You may have worked through injuries and disabilities that would inspire others to do the same.

4. Task or Process: Write a book with the steps it takes to accomplish a complex task in your field. Put all the little known secrets you have learned over the years. You know, the little secret shortcuts and techniques you see others struggle with in your field. You have the solution; put it into your book. Your readers will love you for it and tell all their colleagues about your book.

5. Hobby: I love this one; because people often stumble upon their life's mission this way. If you have a hobby that you are passionate about (most people are) and you have tons of information, you are a prime candidate to write a book about your hobby. Now, you simply put all your information in book form. For example, an author friend of mine who's hobby was Investments. She loved to invest. She read everything in sight about it; she clipped every article and more. She formed an investment club to teach like minded members what she learned over the years. They are all on their way to the kind of wealth she has gained. It was simple for her to gather all her existing information, success stories and a small amount of researched information to write her popular book.

6. Information Packaging. Perhaps you dream of creating your own information product line. You can do it you know. Take your existing body of knowledge on your chosen topic and write a short book as the initial product in your signature line. Then take the original body of information and form it into several audio products, create a companion workbook or study guide. Voila! You have the bare bones to form a Home Study Program.

7. Need or Void In Your Field. Look for a pressing need in your field that no one has come up with the solution. If you have the solution, your book is sure to sell well to your audience. Remember, even if you find someone with the solution on the market there's still room for your unique perspective, tips and stories. Look for a different way to present it. Or find the gaps of information in your competitor's book and make it your USP. Perhaps, they don't make it simple enough or offer good examples and case studies.

8. Your Interests. Consider writing a book about what interests you or about something you need to know. For example, when I first began self publishing I gathered information for my own market comparative analysis. I put the information into a short report which I gave away to hundreds of people. Then as my body of information grew, I compiled it into a website. Soon, as my experiences, stories and information grew, the inevitable happened. I wrote the book 'Self Publishing Your Way Now.'

9. Target A Niche. Simply put, to target a niche market in your book's topic area, identify a problem/solution in your field or industry. Then research your competition. Develop a different approach. With all the books in the world on your topic, it's not enough to know the solution. You must present the solution in a different way than existing books do.

10. Select a Career/Field. During an economy like we are in, many people are looking for a change. You would preferably choose a career you are related to somehow. Find and examine the top ten jobs in your chosen field. Write from experience or interview someone successful in each of the jobs. For example, you could write a book about the Top Ten Dream Jobs in the Medical Field.

You may have noticed in each one of the above examples of the same market, the contents of the book would probably be the same! The books would contain the same basic ideas, suggestions, tips, etc. For example, all the books about diets would probably stress the importance of eating right, choosing the right foods in right portions and daily exercise. Yet, each book presents a different viewpoint targeting a different market.

So BE BOLD; have no fear about approaching the same subject as existing books. Focus in on your unique ideas and viewpoint. Remember, according to the writer of Ecclesiastes, "There's nothing new under the sun." Bernice Fitz-Gibbon said so eloquently, "Creativity often consists of merely turning up what is already there. Did you know that right and left shoes were only thought up only little more than a century ago." Now go start your successful book journey. Make it different. Make it count. Make it yours.

Are you ready to get started writing your very own book? Go get my free 7 lesson mini-course Jumpstart Writing Your Book! Sign up for other insightful How to Write a Book resources at the http://www.bookwritingcourse.com web site From Earma Brown, 16 year author and book writing coach

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Earma_Brown/6289

How to Write the Second Book While Selling the First

By Irene Watson 

Whether you are traditionally published or self-published, once your first book is out in public, you as the author have to commit a great deal of time to marketing it. This commitment can be exciting and exhilarating, but it can also be exhausting and time-consuming. You may be more comfortable wearing your writing cap than the marketing one, or you may find yourself putting so much time and energy into promoting your first book that you don't have time left over for the second book. You need to find a healthy balance between writing and marketing, but you do need to write that second book.

Here are some tips for how to write the second book, what to write about, and finding the time to write it.

Finding Time to Write the Second Book

The optimal time to write the second book is soon after you finish the first book. If you are going to publish your book traditionally, you're going to have a lot of waiting time-waiting for agents or publishers to respond to your queries, and then, if your book is even accepted for publication, waiting roughly another year for it to be published. You probably have two years from when you finished the first book until you have to market it if you are traditionally published. Those two years you can spend working on the second book.

However, if you self-publish your book, you may be wise to wait to publish the first book until you have the second done, or at least a complete rough draft. Learning the ropes of book marketing is a tremendous learning curve that can consume all your time with that first book so be prepared by having the second book ready to go to print rather than trying to do marketing and writing at the same time.

Whether traditionally publishing or self-publishing your book, if you are writing a sequel or a series especially, you may not want to publish the first book until the others are written. One reason is so you can go back and make changes to the first book. You might decide while writing the last book of your trilogy that your main character needs a reason for a certain behavior, a reason stemming from something in her childhood. If you haven't already published the first book, you can easily go back and revise to insert the details in book one to make book three stronger. Another reason to write your entire series before publishing it is that when readers realize you're writing a sequel, they will anticipate the future books. You want to build momentum then by bringing out your books relatively close together, maybe a year apart at most. Authors who write sequels and publish books three or four years apart are likely to lose readers' interests and sales. I know many authors who have had readers tell them they won't read the first book until all three are published because they want to read them altogether, so the sooner you get that whole series published, the sooner you'll be reaping the profits of your book sales.

Choosing the Second Book's Topic

For the second book, choose a topic that is different but similar to the first. If your first book was a fantasy novel with a quest, then the second novel might be a fantasy book but with a romance rather than a quest plot. If you wrote a historical novel, you might want to write a regular history book. If your first book was about overcoming fear, your second book might be about overcoming obstacles, or achieving your goals.

You want your second book to be different enough that people won't feel it's a rehash of the first book, but close enough that it will appeal to the audience that bought the first one. The differences allow also for cross-selling purposes. For example, a biography of President Theodore Roosevelt may lead readers to seek out your novel about Theodore Roosevelt, and vice-versa. If you are writing non-fiction, you might even work in references to your first book in the footnotes or main text. Without making it come off as a sales pitch, if you let readers know you have another book that may interest them, it is likely to sell two books for you.

That said, whatever topic you choose for your second book, you never know if people might enjoy one book enough to read your other book, whether on the same topic or not.

Balance: One Step at a Time

Whether or not you follow my advice, a second book will help you sell more books. Therefore, you need to find the balance between marketing and writing. Too often writers assume they must carve out hours and days to write books, when in truth fifteen minutes or half an hour a day, five hundred words or one single page daily will be enough to produce a book in a year or less. Surely you can carve out that much time, even if only three or four days a week. The important thing is to keep at it. Even slow progress is good progress. That second book will give you staying power in the book world and make it easier for you to sell your first book.

Find the time and follow through on writing the second book. You'll never regret it.

Irene Watson is the Managing Editor of Reader Views, where avid readers can find reviews of recently published books as well as read interviews with authors. Her team also provides author publicity and a variety of other services specific to writing and publishing books.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Irene_Watson/17463

There Are Tax Benefits to Donating Books to Your Library

By Kathy Manney 

Sometimes the quietest moment can speak volumes. So it is when you step into a bookstore or library, but have you ever wondered what happens to the used books in your community or the fate of old books at your local public library?

Many avid readers trade their read volumes at used bookstores. These mostly small owner operated stores have a brisk trade in paperback books. Thrifty readers who trade in their books may recycle them over and over until the spines of the well read volumes no longer hold together and must permanently be disposed of.

What about the fate of old library books, those too worn or out of date? Where does some of the money come from to replace retired library reference books in your community? Clark County, Nevada has found a win win solution for many of its retired books and a tax deductible solution for its library patrons to recycle their books.

The answer comes in the form of the Friends of the Library used bookstores located inside several neighborhood library branches. The Friends of Southern Nevada Libraries is a volunteer organization whose purpose is to promote the services and programs of the Las Vegas Clark County Library District.

Bookstore volunteers are members of Friends of Southern Nevada Libraries who offer to give a few hours each month to working in their neighborhood library. They have christened their bookstores within neighborhood libraries with names such as "Second Edition" at the Clark County Library, "Once Over Lightly" at the Spring Valley Library, "Secondhand Prose" at the West Charleston Library, "Seconds To Go" at the Enterprise Library and "Words to Go Buy" at the Summerlin Library. The library used bookstores are open during regular library hours.

It started out small, just a few books lining the shelves. Nearly ten years later, the Summerlin Library's Words to Go Buy Bookstore has grown to overflowing, often becoming the busiest place in the library on Saturday mornings.

Book donations come in year round, especially during tax time. Library patrons bring their gently read magazines, paperback and hardbound books by the handful and by the boxful. After being sorted and placed on the store shelves by a volunteer, the books are priced by category.

Hard bound and large paperback books cost $1.00, small paperbacks and children's books sell for $0.25 and it is recommended you, "Watch for special discounts" Where will you find a better deal than this?

Dan is the very picture of the avuncular retired professor. The eighty-plus-year old's gracious; soft spoken manner, the wispy gray hair, dark slacks and the roomy casual sweatshirt like sweater. He has been a Saturday morning volunteer fixture, working in the Summerlin Library Bookstore since it opened nearly twenty-years-ago.

Dan relates, "The money we collect from sales, helps with the purchase of new books for the library, especially the Children's Center and I always remind people their book donation is tax deductible and give them a receipt."

Clark County's Library Mission Statement: "We enable the people of our community to pursue lifelong learning through our responsive collections, electronic resources and innovative services. Our inviting public libraries are the cornerstones of our diverse communities where children and adults can experience personal enrichment and connect with one another."

For accomplishing this mission, the Clark County, Nevada Library District second hand bookstores are a good example of offering a wide variety of books for resale. Using the monies generated from book sales to buy new library books for the check out shelves which save taxpayers and promote a tax deduction when patrons bring their books in for recycling in one of its second time around book stores.

The next time you think about what happens to used books or the fate of old books at your local public library you might consider establishing a used bookstore and the two way tax benefits of recycling books through your local library.

Clark County, Nevada's program is not unique. Libraries across the country are discovering the monetary benefits in opening resale book stores. The small town of Schertz, Texas opened a new community library in 2010 with the addition of a modern resale store as nice as any small book store at the mall.

They charge ten cents for used magazines and charge by the book spine in inches on hardbound books. Library resale stores are a win-win. They community benefits by the revenue made and the person donating their read books benefits with a chartable tax credit.

End

Kathy Manney is the nationally recognized author of autobiographical, lifestyle and travel articles and the travel columnist for "The Vegas Voice," a monthly regional senior lifestyle newspaper.

As the travel expert-at-large for the "Voice" Kathy has seen a lot of the world, she enjoys traveling to new and interesting places and in the process of becoming an adventure Diva, finds some of her articles. Kathy's "must see before I die" travel adventures continue, each filled with enthusiasm.

Kathy is open to freelance work in the fields of non-fiction writing and editing.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Kathy_Manney/917253

Getting Self-Published Books in Libraries

By Irene Watson

Many authors have misconceptions about libraries. I have spoken to several authors who are resistant to have their books in libraries and will not donate copies. The resistance comes from a fear that people will check out their books for free and thereby hurt their book sales. Other authors do not bother with libraries because they believe self-published books are not accepted by libraries and they don't want to argue with stereotypically snooty librarians.

Not acting based upon these misconceptions actually results in a loss of book sales for authors. Having a book in the library's collection is one of the best things an author can do. Numerous advantages result from being in the library, but before authors can take advantage of those benefits, they need to get libraries to put their books on the shelves.

Working with Public Libraries

So how do you get your book in the library? The easiest way is to donate a book to your local public library. I have yet to meet a public library that would not add a donated book to its collection, provided the donation was done through the proper channels. Granted, there may be some exceptions because libraries, big as they often are, do have limited shelf space, so they need to make sure the books they carry will be read by their patrons. That said, if you can get your book on the shelf, you will have made a big step toward marketing your book to potential customers.

The key to donating your book is finding the right librarian to accept it. Do not just go to the circulation desk and say, "Here's a book for the collection." The person at the circulation desk is usually not the person who makes decisions about what books go on the shelves. He or she might just add the book to the stack of donated books, many of which end up in the library's book sales to raise money for the library. Instead, call the library and ask to speak to the librarian in charge of collections. That person is the one in charge of buying books and deciding what books get to be on the shelves. Be prepared to give the person information about your book and offer to stop by or email the person with the book cover image. If you are polite and professional, this librarian may be your foot into the library door. Ask other local authors who the appropriate librarian is and what their dealings have been with that librarian so you are prepared for the reception you might get.

Without being pushy, ask for a little publicity once the librarian agrees to accept your book. If the library is in a smaller town, it may have good connections with the local media. I know one library that even takes photos of authors who donate books and sends them to the local newspaper for publication; this gives you expanded publicity and lets people know the book is at the library. At the very least, libraries will often publish in their newsletters, on their websites, in the local newspaper, or on a local access television channel, books recently added to their collections. Remember, everyone can't read the same copy of your book at the same time. If a waiting list for your book starts, the library will want to buy more books. (Don't hesitate to ask all your friends to go to the library and request your book so that waiting list does grow). And the longer that waiting list is, the more likely people won't wait but just go out to buy your book.

Once your book is in the library, it will be catalogued, and once catalogued, it may end up being listed on WorldCat.org. WorldCat is the world's largest network of library content and services. Libraries belonging to WorldCat provide access to their resources at which allows people around the world to find your book online. These books are also available for interlibrary loan, so if your library is in New Hampshire, someone in Texas might request the book and be able to read it.

So beginning with your own local public library, you can make your book accessible nationwide and even worldwide. But getting your book in the library is not the end result. Now that it is in the library, let people know it's there. This is your chance to do a little guerrilla marketing. I know one author who, whenever he goes to the library, looks up his book on the library's computer, then leaves the screen up with his book on it so the next user will see it. He also will look for his book on the shelf, and if it's not checked out, he will pull it out an inch or two on the shelf so it stands out, or even face it outward so people will see it.

At book signings or book fairs, if people ask whether your book is in the library, go ahead and tell them it is. I know many authors who have had people buy their books after reading them in the library just because they loved a book so much they wanted to own it, or they wanted to give copies as gifts.

Also, now that you have your foot in the door at the library, you can continue to network. Eventually, all the librarians may get to know you. When you go to check out books at the circulation desk, they will be pleased to meet you and they might say, "Oh, so you're the author. We have a lot of people check out your book." It's a good way to find out how popular your book is and to make the librarians remember you.

Be sure to get involved with the library. Libraries today are turning into community centers. They are always doing special programming for their patrons. Offer to give a talk. Help with a conference. Donate your time helping with a book sale. Whatever you can do to get to know the library staff will benefit you. I know many authors whom the library continually calls to do events, give advice, or help them with programming. By assisting with library events, authors become known in the community. Being a volunteer also might make the library willing to repay you by hosting a book release party for your second book. Even if you hold events in other venues, the library will often be willing to put up posters for the event-think how many hundreds or thousands of people visit the library each day who may see those posters.

Beyond your local library, branch out to other libraries in your state. First you might visit libraries in neighboring towns, then work your radius out to the next county. You can drop names of your local librarians with librarians in other towns. Most librarians know each other within their own county or state, so if you have library references, other libraries will be more likely to want to host you for a book signing or talk-and buy your book for their own collections.

Special Interest Libraries

Beyond the public library, many other types of libraries exist whose shelves would be a good home for an author's book.

Most states have their own state libraries. For example, I know one author who sent copies of his book to the Library of Michigan. The result was, without his asking, he ended up being listed on a brochure the Library of Michigan distributed to libraries statewide featuring Upper Michigan authors.

Your town might have a library for the visually impaired that would be interested in your books-even if you don't have an actual audio book, many of the new readers, such as Kindle, will read books out loud to people, so let such libraries know your book is available in electronic or audio form.

University libraries might be more particular than local libraries when it comes to taking self-published books, but if you went through that university's English degree program, or you worked as an assistant at the library when you were in college, or you worked at the local newspaper-whatever you did as a student-see if you have connections that can help you. Wherever you were an alumni, use it to your advantage to get your book in the university library, and also to do events on campus.

If your book is age appropriate, talk to librarians at the local school libraries, either elementary, middle, or high school. Many schools love to have author visits, and depending on your book's topic, they might have you come in to talk to the students about being an author or about your book's subject.

Is there a local history museum near you? Then donate a copy of your book to its research library-generations from now, people may be interested in the local author who lived in the town, and if you've written a local history book, all the better. I know one author whose local history book is regularly used by the research librarians as a resource they show to their patrons, and many of those patrons then go out and buy the book since they can only use it otherwise in the research library.

Many organizations and centers have libraries-from the local senior center to churches. They are all opportunities to get your book included in their collections as well. Think of places you are involved with and ask other people you know about organizations with library collections and who to talk to in those organizations.

Libraries are Your Best Friends

In short, having your book in a library is one of the best things you can do to promote it and to sell books. Be friends with your local librarians and you will get local community recognition that in time can become national and then worldwide. And remember, every library is different and has different policies and different staff. Just because one library says "No" to you doesn't mean another library will. Keep at it and you'll find your book on more library shelves than you anticipated when you began.

Irene Watson is the Managing Editor of Reader Views, where avid readers can find reviews of recently published books as well as read interviews with authors. Her team also provides author publicity and a variety of other services specific to writing and publishing books.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Irene_Watson/17463