Burgers & Books, 1-Star Reviews & Other Peculiar Author Marketing Ideas

ideas for authors bulb-40701_960_720Are you tired of hearing the same people tell you the same things about what you need to do to publish your books and connect with readers? Me too. Recently I walked the periphery of Indie Land and spoke to some of the authors on the outside. You know – the ones who sell more than a modest amount of books and cross the line from time to time. The ones who know that all the information we receive about professionalism and product and content are common sense. The ones who will threaten to smack you if you suggest one more time that it all starts by writing a book that readers want to read. We know that already. Here’s some wisdom those fringers have asked me to pass along to you. Continue reading “Burgers & Books, 1-Star Reviews & Other Peculiar Author Marketing Ideas”

Open Letter to Book Clubs: Reach Out to Indie Authors

bookclub1Recently I was contacted by a book club in a city halfway across the state, wondering if there was any possibility I might be able to visit as they were planning to read one of my books for their upcoming monthly meeting. They sweetened the pot by offering to pay for one night at a nice hotel, plus their meeting was going to be aboard a patio boat cruising a beautiful lake. Who could refuse? Continue reading “Open Letter to Book Clubs: Reach Out to Indie Authors”

Book Club Reading List: Is It Worth It?

Book Club Reading ListSeveral years ago, I came across Book Club Reading List (BCRL), a site that claims to connect book clubs and readers with authors and books via, among other avenues, a monthly newsletter sent to 8,000+ book clubs. In addition, BCRL partners with various book clubs that agree to review exclusively books they’ve found through BCRL.

In their instructions to clubs, “Each month, our clubs are presented with three titles by local authors. Authors compete for your attention, and members vote to select the book that their local chapter will read. Once a title has been selected, the winning author acts as the ‘guest host’, scheduling a day, time and location through the chapter’s group on Meetup.com.” Continue reading “Book Club Reading List: Is It Worth It?”

How to Create Book Club Questions for your Novel

rj crayton libraryGuest Post
by RJ Crayton

As authors, we want our books read, and what better place than at book clubs? So, if your book is chosen by a book club, one thing you can do to make it easy for the group (besides writing a great book) is give them questions.

Many books published nowadays come with a series of “Book Club” or “Discussion” questions at the end. So, how do you create these questions for your book? Continue reading “How to Create Book Club Questions for your Novel”