Book Blast and Giveaway: The Ultimate Guide to Book Marketing by Dara Beevas and Roseanne Cheng

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The authors will be awarding a 30 minute book marketing consultation to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Congratulations, indie author!

You’ve finished your book—now all that’s left is to get it out into the world. Unfortunately, for many authors, it’s that step of the process that’s the hardest. Marketing is seen as something to be feared, dreaded, and outsourced as much as possible—a daunting task that will leave you drained.

But fear not! The team at Wise Ink knows a thing or two about how to sell your book. And they’re here to tell you everything.

Buzz is the indie author’s ultimate guide to marketing effectively, inexpensively, and excitingly. Within its pages, you’ll find answers to the questions on every writer’s mind:



• What does it really mean to “market” my book?

• How do I best reach my specific audience?

• What are effective ways to promote my book via social media?

• Do I really need to be a public speaker?

In addition to this, the Wise Ink marketing team has provided sample content calendars, email promotions, a marketing starter kit, and more to ensure you’re prepared to get out there and sell your book.

Marketing doesn’t have to be a horror story! Let Buzz teach you how to take your book to its maximum potential.

Read an Excerpt:

How do I best reach my specific audience?

You will hear us say this over and over again, as it is one of the Ten Commandments of book publishing: Know thine audience!

Think carefully about your “ideal” reader. What do they do in their spare time? Where do they normally purchase things? Where do they go for information? And most importantly, what are some unique and organic ways to get your book and message in front of them?

Hopefully, by the time you begin marketing your book, you will have already thought through these things carefully. Still, it’s a good idea to refresh your memory. Also, be concrete in how you determine your market demographics. Go deeper than the standard questions around gender, age, education, and geographic location. Those are just places to start.

When describing your ideal reader, be specific with the details that matter, such as how much time they have to read, how they might use your book day-to-day, and how they generally make recommendations to others. Another thing to do is segment your readers into three specialized subgroups—communities that align with each reader’s professional identities and personal aspirations. This helps you dig even deeper into the psychology of how to sell your book smartly and where it makes the most sense to spend your time. As an example: To market your business book, you might segment your readers into millennials and recent grads, aspiring entrepreneurs, and motivational speakers. If you've just published a sci-fi thriller, your subgroups might include fans of the popular sci-fi series Black Mirror, sci-fi writers who frequent fan-fiction sites, and people who attend conventions like WorldCon.

How does your ideal reader obtain information? Blogs? Magazines? Newspapers? Ads? What social media sites do they frequent? Be as specific as you can here. These are the places you will want to target in terms of marketing.

Where does your ideal reader shop? Think beyond bookstores. Are they frequent travelers? (Maybe they shop in airports a lot.) Do they have stores they tend to gravitate toward? Make a list of these places, and find connections there to share your book with.

Buy Link: https://wiseink.com/store/buzz-the-ultimate-guide-to-book-marketing


About the Authors: Roseanne Cheng is a former high school English teacher and author of two young adult books, The Take Back of Lincoln Junior High and Edge the Bare Garden, which won the gold medal for young adult fiction at the Writer’s Digest Self Published Book Awards and the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards. She now works as Marketing Director at Wise Ink Creative Publishing where she holds the secondary title of “Author Therapist” and has the pleasure of helping authors create plans to get their work into the world. When she’s not reading a book or practicing yoga, you can probably find her hanging out with her hilarious husband of ten years and their two ridiculously awesome kids. Follow her on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/teachablelit.

Dara Beevas believes that books can save lives, open doors, and build bridges. As co-founder of Wise Ink, she encourages authors to share powerful stories that ignite change, tolerance, and growth. She has been involved in the publishing community for fifteen years, acquiring manuscripts, managing projects, and creating marketing and sales strategies for authors and publishers. She’s helped more than four hundred authors publish their books. She is the author of The Indie Author Revolution and co-author of Social Media Secrets for Authors. When she’s not busy pushing the envelope in this crazy world of publishing and networking with inspiring entrepreneurs, she’s traveling and enjoying her husband Tomme’s delicious Jamaican meals with her daughter Genesis. Follow her on http://www.twitter.com/darairene or http://www.instagram.com/darairene.



Website: http://www.wiseink.com

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wiseink

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Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/wiseink/pins/

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Interview with Jo Linsdell, Author of Virtual Book Tours: Effective Online Book Promotion From the Comfort of Your Own Home

Jo Linsdell is a best selling author and internationally recognised book marketing expert. She is the founder and CEO of the Writers and Authors blog and the annual online event Promo Day. Learn more about Jo at www.JoLinsdell.com

For more information about Virtual Book Tours: Effective Online Book Promotion from the Comfort of our own Home, please visit www.JoLinsdell.com or contact webmaster@JoLinsdell.com.


When did you start your writing career?

I've been writing since I was little but it was only in 2006 that I finally switched from occasional hobby writer to writing career. I'd always loved anything and everything creative as I was growing up and then in my teens I started to write poetry as a way of venting my emotions. As an adult I ended up in jobs where writing was a big part of my work. I worked with a company that published books for the dental industry and then worked at the main hospital here in Rome writing up research articles for the Neurology department. Although the topics weren't much fun I did learn a lot about the publishing industry.

Whilst working at the hospital I saw an ad that an English language newspaper in Florence was open to submissions. I sent off an article and it was published in the very next issue. This was the moment my writing career started. It was the turning point that made me realize writing didn't have to be just a hobby.

Since then I've written for numerous publications around the world and published several books.

Does your family support you in your writing career? How?

My family are very supportive. My kids love that I write books (although they prefer it when I do my children's books as opposed to my non fiction ;)). My 5 year old is always asking questions about what I'm doing and loves to be involved in my projects. When we go to bookstores he often asks "mummy did you write that one?".

My husband is my number 1 fan and tells everyone whenever I have a new book out. Even after all these years I'm not sure he really understands all the stuff I do when I'm writing and marketing my books but he lets me talk about it all and cheers me on any way. He keeps some of my business cards with him when he goes out so he can hand them out to people.

What music did you listen to when writing this book?

I'm a huge fan of Bruno Mars and listened to a lot of his stuff. Safe and sound by Captial Cities, Blurred lines by Robin Thicke, and Wake me up by Avicii were also frequently on my playlist.

Where do you do most of your writing?

I have two young kids and so, despite having a nicely organised desk area, I tend to do most of my writing sitting at the kitchen table where I can keep a close eye on them. Another favorite spot is my bed. I get most of my writing done in the evenings after the kids have gone to bed, so often I get comfy and write on my laptop from there.

Why do authors need your book?

Marketing is part of being a writer. Regardless of how you're published (traditionally or self-published), you will, at some point, need to do some marketing. Virtual book tours are one of the most effective methods of creating a buzz about your book and have numerous benefits. In this book I cover everything you need to know to organise and carry out a virtual book tour. Even if you decide not to do a virtual book tour, you'll still find this book useful as it's packed full of marketing ideas and links to resources.

Why did you decide to write a book about virtual book tours?

I've done several successful virtual book tours for my own books and have worked with book tour companies and authors for years hosting them on my sites. Over the years I've therefore gained a lot of experience in doing virtual book tours both from the author and host point of view. As I often get asked for advice about doing them from other authors I decided to put all the information together and created Virtual Book Tours: Effective Online Book Promotion From the Comfort of Your Own Home.

What is the first thing you recommend authors do when they decide to organise a virtual book tour?

Put together a media kit. In creating a media kit you have all the information regarding your book, you as an author, and your virtual book tour, all in the one place. This makes it a useful reference tool for you, but also a valuable tool you can use during preparations for your tour. It looks professional and creates a good impression. I also makes life easier for your hosts as they have all the information they might need for your post all in the one place.

You created the cover art for the book yourself. What was your inspiration for the design?

I wanted a cover that was thumbnail friendly as, more often than not, it gets seen online in that format. That meant the text needed to be easy to read and the whole look needed to be clutter free. Too many details or fancy fonts don't look good in thumbnails. I also wanted an image that quickly portrayed what the book was about. I choose the theme "sending your book around the world" and played around with some ideas based on this idea. I'm really pleased with how the cover came out.

Why did you choose to self publish using Amazon's KDP program?

I've always been very pro self publishing. For me, it's always been my plan A. I choose Amazon because it's the leader in its field. Everyone knows Amazon. Using the site is super easy and through KDP your book can be available to the public in just 12 hours from hitting the publish button.

I like that through KDP setting up a free day is easy. It's a great way to spread the word about your book and get readers to take notice. I like that you can update your book information as and when you please and have full control over pricing. They also have one of the best customer services I've come across. If that's not enough, they bought Goodreads earlier this year (one of the top sites for book lovers).

What's next?

I'm currently working on another children picture story book The Bedtime Book, a series of non-fiction books for writers and authors about using social media, and some new collaborations as an illustrator. I like to keep myself busy ;)

Virtual Book Tours are a great way to create a buzz for a new release or to put life back into an older publication. In this book I'll take you through everything you need to know to be able to set up and carry out a successful virtual book tour.

The book is divided into 4 main sections for easy navigation:

1) What is a Virtual Book Tour?
2) How to organise your own tour
3) Promoting a tour
4) Useful resources

You'll find it packed with links, tips, and advice to help make your tour a hit.


Product Details:

File Size: 384 KB
Print Length: 83 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00ELNAQ92
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

Purchasing links:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ELNAQ92 (Kindle)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Virtual-Book-Tours-Effective-ebook/dp/B00ELNAQ92 (Kindle)

http://www.amazon.ca/Virtual-Book-Tours-Effective-ebook/dp/B00ELNAQ92 (Kindle)

Goodreads link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18340947-virtual-book-tours

Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/428511413928514

From Blank Page to Book Shelves

I am giving up the floor today to Theresa Chaze, author of From Blank Page to Book Shelves. She'll talk about local book marketing and promotions.

Theresa Chaze is a publishing consultant and publicist who helps authors successful publish and market their own work. Here's what she has to say:



Many authors are so focused on the Internet and the big picture that they frequently overlook local marketing opportunities. Regional promotion needs to be the starting point for every author. It is the place to get experience answering questions and chatting up the reading public. The more comfortable you are talking about your work and the industry, the more creditable you will be to your readership.

Book marketing and promotion opportunities don't have to cost more than your time and enthusiasm. By having faith in yourself and a little courage you can create openings to talk about your work without having to spend money for advertising.

* Write articles for the local paper or magazines on topic will give the author credibility and is a positive marketing tool. However, the articles don't specifically need to be about your work, but should include any topic that you have knowledge or interest in.

* Give away promotional book markers or postcards to people you meet and send them in books of the same genre that are on bookstore shelves. This doesn't mean blanket the shelves, just occasionally add one to a book that is similar to your own to tap into their readership.

* Arrange to do a combination reading and book signing at a local store. Most book signings are just show and tell for later sales. However, if you combine it with a reading of the book, you will gather more curiosity about the rest of it.

* Give lectures in the community. If you are passionate about an issue or about a cause get involved. Not all of promotion has to be directly related to your work. Half the battle is getting name recognition and creating a brand name for yourself. By making yourself more identifiable and interesting, you create a wider market for your work.

* Write press releases emphasizing that you are a local writer. Many newspapers and TV stations do human interests stories. Just because the show is local doesn't mean that the information stops at the county line. Families and friends are spread out across the country; if you can impress one, you have access to them all.

* Burn CD's with excerpts and your bio that bookstores could give away. Blank CD's and cases are relatively inexpensive marketing tools, especially if you have more than one book. Not only are you able to put book trailers but also short excerpts to create an interest in your work.

* Talk about you books. When you are waiting in line at the check out, start a conversation with the people around you. It will make the wait easier while promoting your book.

The key is to never pass up an opportunity to let others know about your book. Whether standing in a check out lane or paying bills, you can turn nearly every experience into a promotional prospect. Not only will these impromptu opportunities help others learn about your work, but they will also prepare you for the questions asked during professional interviews and cold calls to bookstores.

You can purchase your copy of From Blank Page to Book Shelves at Amazon.com


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