Saying ‘I love you” to your husband everyday and seeking to bring laughter to daily life are two of Juana Mikel’s 11 checkpoints for refreshing your marriage. Mikels included the checkpoints in her new book Choosing Him All Over Again: A Story of Romance and Redemption. She’s also sharing an abbreviated version of the checkpoints, along with the story of how her book came to be with Shattered Magazine. You can read the article by visiting ShatteredMagazine.net.
Remember those 25 million readers using the social media platform Goodreads we talked about earlier? Now that you’ve joined the Goodreads Author program and have learned to get your books out there, it’s time to discuss interacting with those readers—just not all of them at once.
Think of your Goodreads profile as your introduction to your readers. You want to give them the basics—where you live, if you have pets, kids, etc.—but you also want to seem like a fun and interesting person. Avoid just giving a list of facts about yourself. Instead, present your bio in a unique way that tells the reader just as much about yourself as the facts you give.
Also, update your picture and give your personality a “face.” Try to use the same picture that you use on the back of your most recent book and other social media profiles. This cuts down on the confusion, especially if there is another writer out there with your name.
Fans vs. FriendsA fan is a person who follows you and wants to receive updates, similar to “liking” a page on Facebook. A friend is a person that you have gotten to know personally, whether online or in “real life,” like Facebook friends. You want more fans than friends. Since you have a limited amount of time to invest, you can only keep up so many relationships. But a fan doesn’t ask you to feed her dog while she’s gone or to be her bridesmaid. They just like your books and want to know more about them and more about you.
Most authors provide a way just for fans to contact them, maybe a special email or mailing address. This way, you can interact with your fans, but don’t feel obligated to attend so many weddings.
Don’t Comment on ReviewsYes, it may be a struggle. You worked on your book for so long and want to thank that reader for their kind words, but resist the temptation. An author needs to keep a low-key presence on review boards, which includes bad reviews too. Every book gets some bad reviews, but don’t retaliate. Instead, respond with silent grace. These reviews, and your reactions, are public for anyone and everyone to see. One bad reaction from an author can cause a reader (or readers) to hate that author’s work for a lifetime.
By keeping your presence off review boards, you give readers the opportunity to review without fear of author reaction. These reviews are more honest and usually encourage readers to review your book even more.
On rare occasions, if a particular positive review knocks you off your feet, and you are in awe, filled with thankfulness, I would suggest sending that reader a one-on-one message. It’s private, so you stay out of the public eye, but you can also show appreciation for that excellent review.
Think of it like going to a book club meeting, and Jane Smith comes up and says, “Hi! I’m Jane. Here’s my new book!” Every time you try to suggest that she actually talk about that month’s book, she just keeps chattering away about her own work. Narcissistic, right?
So as an author, when you join a group, follow the rules and discuss with them. Eventually, you may have a chance to talk about what you are working on, but be delicate. You don’t want to be just another Jane Smith.
Well, there you have it. The basics of author and reader interactions. If you have any additional questions not answered here, please comment below or contact us on Twitter @AmbassadorIntl. And don’t forget to check out the giveaway Ambassador is currently running on Goodreads. Enter to win one of five copies of Willing to Die by John Muntean:
Next week, we’ll give you some tips and tricks for using Goodreads with your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Until then, enjoy your new knowledge of Goodreads!
Over the span of six weeks Ambassador COO Tim Lowry will be sharing a series he calls “Beyond the Manuscript.” Whether you’re a new or seasoned author we hope you’ll find this material helpful:
For many authors a book signing is high moment in their career as a writer, they get to interact with family, friends and supporters and see the excitement and response first hand from those buying their book. With this in mind you want your signing event to be great!
Signing events are a big deal. If you have a good event managers will want you back and short list you for future events. The work you put in is invaluable.
The first step is obvious, you will want to select a popular local retail store, preferably working with the manager and retail partner you’ve already connected with. When selecting dates keep your area in mind. Certain nights in certain regions or during certain times of year are not good. Think mid-week meetings, football season, local high school games. These are small details that can have a great impact on turnout.
When a date is selected you want to start event promotion, there are many steps you can take to make your signing a success. Being strategic and paying attention to the detail are a big part of it.
We have put each of these elements into play for many events. As a case study lets take the title Healing Hearts. Earlier this year we had a major launch, we reached out to key regional magazines months in advance, we got an interview and it was circulated to 300,000 readers in a Dallas based publication. We held interviews with local affiliates of national stations. We created a Facebook event inviting hundred of followers. The author sent out emails and mailings to 500+ contacts and announced it among his contacts and at his church. Barnes and Noble advertised the signing on their website and in-store with posters. Our publicist was on the ground in Dallas to assist with media and sales. The event came around and we sold several hundred books and the event ran seven hours making it one of the largest events in this history of this specific Barnes and Noble store. Much work was put into this. The author worked extremely hard coordinating his personal promotional elements and we as a publishing house worked to tie the event and media together. Our efforts combine to make a great event. The volume of sales for this event may have been the exception rather than the rule however we have seen strong sales over and over when the above steps are put into action.
I share this to encourage you. Put in the hard work.
Also, don’t be afraid to be creative with your promotions.
Consider having a blog tour running up to the big event. Each blogger can post a review, link to the title and announce the event through their blog posts. You can then share each post daily through your social media in the run up to the event.
Ask the store (if an indie) to host a Google+ Hangout with you. This can be used to promote the event and store. For an indie store this can be a great way for them to get followers to their social media, they may even be willing to offer a gift card as a prize. Remember that stores are also looking for ways to get attention and if you show you care about getting them exposure they will appreciate it. A lead into a signing such as this also provides you with a media angel.
You also can be thinking of what kind of giveaway you can offer. It could be something as simple as giving away a handful of signed copies through your site in the run up to the signing or a free ebook for the first 10-25 sales at your event. This can be something to partner with your publisher on. Have the buyers email their book receipt from the event to the publisher and eReader type. The publisher could provide a download code.
With the big event about 10 days out, you’ll want to ensure stock is on hand. This seems like something you shouldn’t need to worry about however even the best stores can make a slip up and we find ourselves overnighting books. Avoid surprises, check up on the stock or have your publisher do this. It is also worthwhile having a plan in place seeing extra stock accessible should you sell out.
Finally, this is the one party you don’t want to be late for arrive 10-15 minutes early.
I’d love to hear about your first signing, what did you learn from it?
