A call out to James Patterson

A little less talk...

If you follow books, eBooks and publishing you saw the news floating around about the ads James Patterson is paying for to get people talking about bookstores closing and government bailouts. As you know I am not much for talking if it does not result in something being done. So with the smooth pen of one Joel Fishman we, i.e. Joel calls for some action.

I will not go into a lot of detail as Joel does a fine job in this POST.

What do you think?



Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

Social Media Rules: What not to wear!

Social Media Rules

I know, there really are not any rules, not written at least but there is a lot of unwritten ones that you should know. I mean SM is not a new thing, Facebook, Twitter, Blogging have all been out long enough that grandma is doing it so the "I didn't know!" line just doesn't work anymore. 

The first thing you should think about is WHY you are on SM. If you are a business or author you will want to do things different than a mom who just wants to chat with family and friends. If you just want to keep in touch with friends and have fun, might be a good idea to only "Friend" people you know. If you are an author like me or are looking at SM as a way to market yourself you should "Friend" anyone related to your business. 

Once you know WHY you are on SM you can begin. 

Be smart, and be a good neighbor. Bring back the tool you borrowed, don't play loud music at 2 a.m. 

First rule and the most important IMO is: DON'T COMMENT ON EVERY POST! This is a good way to stay out of trouble. Posts involving government, God, family, and justice can get heated and just because you don't agree does not mean you have to butt in. Stay out of it, your advice is not needed and it will only get you angry or worse. 

This is the problem with SM, you ready for it? 

"We were not designed to know our friends and families every thought on every subject." --Aaron Patterson

We see our friends once a week, maybe a best friend four times a week and our family every day for part of the day. In a lifetime we may never know what they think about Tuna fighting, Breast feeding or hear a crude joke come out of their mouth. SM shows us everything, the bad days, the night you got drunk and had your phone, nothing can be hidden anymore. You have to remember, if you find out something about a person you love and it is a bad thing, cut them some slack, you have things they don't like and before SM we would never know. 

Another good rule is: DON'T POST YOUR EVERY THOUGHT/DRUNK POST OR OPINION ON EVERYTHING! In a word, Shut-up. No one cares, really. We look through posts and pass over yours most days. So be fun and light, enjoy your SM time and don't use it to push your agenda. 

"Your opinion is just as important as mine." -- Me again

We live in the American Idol generation. We all think that what we think matters. We vote on shows, call in and gripe on the radio and everyone on FB jumps when we whine about something. But the truth is, you may be smart to you and your mini friend list but there are more people out there who think you are stupid and ignorant. So it is al fair... in love and SM, lol

Authors and other pushers: STOP POSTING CRAP ABOUT YOUR BOOK OR PRODUCT: Again, no one cares. It is annoying and shows your lack of skill in marketing. Post or tweet now and again but don't beat people up. If you post it all the time I will put you on the Not to read list!

DON'T POST ON MY WALL! Does my wall look like your personal banner? Do you really think I will see the link to your book and be HAPPY about it? Oh and a follow-up on this is people with an auto respond when I friend them or follow them on Twitter with a link to their product. #Lame

One more rule that seems to be hard for people: DON'T AUTO TWEET! Really, we all know you do it, we see through it and we don't respond to it, so maybe not do it?

SM is a conversation, join it or go away. Don't post and run, it is pointless. I don't care how many people follow your blog, if it does not get people to interact you are just more spam. 

These are just a few, the rest you can figure out. If you keep it light and stay out of fights you will go a long way. Hope this helps and that you got a laugh out of my spunky nature this morning. 

Later

--Aaron

Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

The secret to making millions as an Indie author!

From construction to making up crap for a living. 

I had the chance to go and also speak on a panel at Thriller Fest in New York a week or so ago. It was a great time and sad to say most of the panels were...well... worthless. From big publishers trying to tell a room full of writers how to make it big yet most have no clue about the market, to classes about everything but what is relevant. Needless to say there were a lot of agents and publishers that looked like zombies walking in the land of eBooks and social media.

But before I doom you with my poor outlook, let us forget the bad and focus on the good. My panel rocked! I got to sit with talented authors and one Indie publisher started by (Bob Mayer). We talked about eBooks, publishing and junk like that. In the middle of all this I was honored to have lunch with CJ Lyons. Now this lady can flat-out sell books! We were talking about the silver bullet... the thing we get asked all the time, "How can I sell like you, what is the secret...tell us!!!"

So I am going to open the gates, lay it all out there and tell you how to make a ton of money and how to reach a ton of fans. You ready? No really, this secret WILL work, it has like a 99.9% rate of success... get your notepads out... here I go... the super secret to making a living and going big!!!

Write more books.



Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

Chill Out! The Author's Guide to Chilling Out!

Chill out!


This is your deep breath in... hold it, and now... let it out. There, now keep doing that.

I had some friends when I was little that used to say Chill Out all the time! Chill... it was all cool to say it so we did. But it is a good reminder to keep our heads.

What does this have to do with writing and publishing? Everything!

So many of us have our heads in an imaginary cloud, heck, we write made up stories and live in a dream world so it can be hard to get centered and grounded in reality again.

Here are some signs that you need to Chill Out!

1. Your way is the only way!
I read a post from an author who gets over a million hits on his blog every month. He was telling people that only stupid authors sell on Amazon because they are losing money and helping sell Kindles. I did a double take and read how HE says you should sell all your books and eBooks direct! Well, that works for like 4 authors in the world, but the rest of us need a store to sell our books, i.e. Amazon.

This is what I like to call OUT OF TOUCH! They think that the way they do it, is the only way and they lose touch with what is real. Many authors that sell really well can fall into this trap and forget how hard it was to build up to a good sales base. They lose touch. Other writers get angry at anyone selling as they think it should be them and in their Dream World they should be millionaires.
Chill!

2. Impatience!
We all want the magic bullet, the lottery ticket. But that is not how it works. There are a lot of writers that give up because their dreams of fame and fortune are dashed as they struggle to sell their books. This leads to bitterness and they quit, not realizing that half of success is just showing up.

My Dad used to tell me that if I worked hard and was on time I would end up owning the company. I did not know how true this was until I saw that so many people can't show up on time and do not work hard. If you just work hard and show up, you will sell just because you are there! Don't believe me?
Chill!

3. Overreaction! 
KDP Select! Price fixing! Big Bad Companies! Reviews! File Sharing!
Something new comes out and all the blogger's ring Chicken Little's neck so they can run around screaming THE SKY IS FALLING! Chill! A blogger says that Amazon is trying to murder little puppies and the world is out to get them or you hear that someone is saying mean things about you on Twitter. Really? Calm people, think, lets get out of our made up-world and remember: No one is out to get you. You are not that important. You really think all the big boys want to kill us all off so they can have their 10 books and burn the rest? This is where we need to stop and breathe... oh and CHILL!

4. Rule Nazi's!
Now this one is just personal, but what is with all the people running around making sure you follow every law and rule? It is like having my mom look over my shoulder to make sure that I color in the lines. Rules are meant to be broken, live a little! Oh, and this goes back to being important, I am not important enough for the CIA to go after me because I sold a book for under the price allowed by the online retailers. Try breaking a little online web rule, you might like it!
Chill!

I think you get the idea.

Life is short, enjoy the ride.
Hang with people you want to be like.
Work hard, play harder.
Surprise someone with unnecessary kindness.
Admit you are wrong.
Laugh.
Live.

Now quit reading this crap and get out there and WORRY about something! =)

Chill...




Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

eBook cover design! Guest post by Cory Clubb

Cory has done a few covers for me and is a great guy to work with. He is not scared to try new things and create new and exciting covers. I wanted to have him on to talk about covers as they are very important to selling eBooks. A cover is not just about cool art but getting the right cover for the right book...




Guest post by Cover Designer, Cory Clubb!

eBook Cover Design.

                  The old saying goes “Never judge a book by its cover”. Like most folks, you, for example, are just trying to break in. You’ve got your manuscript finished and are ready to throw it out into the world. Even better, with the explosion of eBooks, you’ve got an all access way to reach a real audience. Although that old saying has now become truer than you think. That’s what I’d like to focus on here: eBook cover design.

                  You, the self-pubbed author, someone who has never signed with a publishing house and you can barely stand to wait and unleash your story on the masses. This is your first strike against you when it comes to cover design. Slow down. It took you months, maybe even years to write that book. Why not take some time to package it nicely and have it done right. A white cover with the title and your name in black Papyrus font on the cover is not going to gain you readers. Seriously, I’ve seen this.

                  Secondly, you’re not a designer, you’re a writer. This is one of the hardest things about cover design in an eBook market. I’m not saying you couldn’t design a perfectly fine cover, I’m saying if you’re putting your name on the front, you’ve got a story to tell, not a book cover to create.  Relax and don’t worry here’s the upside. Without being signed to a publisher, you’ve got free reign for what goes on the cover design. Let the professional designer worry about making it look pretty. You’ve got a sequel to crank out!

                  With eBooks and eReaders almost becoming the norm in publishing these days, you have mere seconds to catch a browser’s eye. Your book is not sitting on a bookshelf in a store, no, your little baby is at the justice of a flick of a finger. Maybe we should change the wording to that old saying to “Never judge a book, BUY its cover”? And isn’t that almost the case? Because in our technology advanced society, we don’t have time to turn to the back cover blurb and read about the book. We want it in one snap-shot of a moment to know what that book is about. This too is working against you.

                  For eBooks it’s go big or go home. The reader has to remember three things when telling some else about a book. The title, the author’s name, and what the cover looked like. Be memorable and standout. There are numerous legal thrillers out there, try something new and exciting! Have said all that, do remember that size does matter. With smart phones and tablets, we see things at thumbnail size. Be generous with your font sizes and have your name be in a legible font that works to your advantage.

                  Cover design is not an easy thing to do, believe me. What most self-published authors have wrong is that it doesn’t matter, just get it out there, and start selling! It does matter! You want to be remembered after your reader finishes that final scene. Don’t just slap on an image and be done with it, have some fun, take some time, and be creative with your design. If you don’t know how, hire a well respected cover artist because they put as much passion into your cover as you have in those words.

http://coryclubb.carbonmade.com/about          

                 

A book cover needs to be unique to the story itself, inform the reader of what is going on with the plot, and the characters. It’s sort of like your elevator pitch, but instead it’s more of a tiny advertisement in that elevator and you’ve got seconds to get folks to notice it before they get off. 

-Cory   

Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

My Journey to Amazon Bestseller by Indie Publishing: Guest Post by Debra Burroughs

My Journey to Amazon Bestseller by Indie Publishing – by Debra Burroughs

Although I published my first book two years ago with a small press, about a year ago I plunged headlong into the dark unknown of Indie Publishing.

Well, it’s not really dark or unknown, that’s just how it felt to me – at first. My first book, CHICANA, a labor of love that took me over two years to write, did not set the world on fire as I had hoped. I had visions of going on The Oprah Show and The TODAY Show to talk about my gripping and compelling story, but the invitations never came.

After I decided to go it alone, I was determined to learn all I could about self-publishing and how I could market my books to the masses. From the day I made that decision, I voraciously devoured everything I could find on the subject.

I began by following the blog thewritersguidetoepublishing.com, which posts every day on all things indie (which was a fantastic place to start). I read J.A. Konrath’s blog on self-publishing, Bob Mayer’s Write It Forward blog, and Kristen Lamb’s WarriorWriters.wordpress.com. I joined KindleBoards.com and hung out there in the Writers’ Café, interacting with other indie authors.  

Here is a list of some of the books I read to learn about Indie Publishing:
Dollars & Sense: The Definitive Guide to Self-Publishing Success (by Carolyn McCray et al)
Smart Self-Publishing: Becoming an Indie Author (by Zoe Winters)
Let’s Get Digital (by David Gaughran)
The Indie Journey: Secrets to Writing Success (by Scott Nicholson)
How To Really Sell eBooks (by Jon F. Merz, who turned me on to TweetAdder.com)

I know we all think we can write the “great American novel,” but you will find you improve with each book you write. And the more you read, the better you get, so regularly read top authors in the genres you want to write. You’ll be surprised how it will improve your writing.  

Here are some of the writing books I read to improve my writing skills:
Plot & Structure (by James Scott Bell)
Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One and Never Lets Them Go (by Les Edgerton)
Story Engineering (by Larry Brooks)

After all of that, I have to tell you that my best marketing promotions are done on Twitter (with the help of TweetAdder) and those I have done in conjunction with the Indie Book Collective (IndieBookCollective.com), I have found, at least for me, that cross-promoting with other good authors can be very successful.

Using a combination of a Free promotion and a cross-promoting campaign, I was able to get my latest release, Three Days in Seattle, into Amazon’s Top 100 Paid for 15 days in a row last month and it has sold over 17,000 copies since its release at the end of February, 2012.

I believe that through all I have learned on this exciting indie-publishing journey, I can boil it down to three things – write a good book, have a professional and attention-grabbing cover, and market the heck out of it (which is the hardest part).

In the end, as I have been told by long-time and successful authors, the best promotion for your books is to write another great book. I am getting ready to release my fourth book this June, The Scent of Lies, and plan two more before the end of 2012.  

What has your publishing journey been like?

You can follow Debra on Facebook, Twitter@DebraBurroughsAuthor and also check out her website@http://www.debraburroughsbooks.com  

About Debra Burroughs:
Debra Burroughs grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area during the tumultuous 1960′s, during the time that the Civil Rights Movement was gearing up and racial tensions were mounting. Her parents moved the family to a more peaceful town in the Central Valley of California, where she became the assistant editor of her high school newspaper and even had a teen column in the city paper.

Starting college, she majored in broadcast journalism, but over time she changed her major to business. Even though she moved her focus to the business world, she never lost her love for writing. She always hoped one day to return to it.

Over the years, with a large Mexican family, she heard many stories about their history, particularly from her grandmother and mother. As she would relay these colorful and heart-wrenching family stories to her friends, many times she would hear them say, “You should really write a book about that.” So, finally, she did. CHICANA, a Memoir debuted in November, 2010. Her other books include Three days in Seattle and She had no choice.  

Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

Building a career: Guest Post By Allan Leverone

Building a career: Guest Post By Allan Leverone

It’s been said that over eighty percent of the U.S. population believes they have a book in them and would like to write one. If you apply that percentage to the current population of this country, there are potentially two hundred fifty million aspiring authors typing away, maybe as we speak.

In the olden days, say way back around 2007 or so, probably 249,900,000 of those aspiring authors would never have even bothered to try to write the Great American Novel, and for good reason: it was damned near impossible to get published. It was easier to marry a Kardashian—probably a lot easier—than to get your manuscript into the hands of a publisher.

Now, of course, with the rise of ebooks and the ease of self-publishing, the barriers to anyone with a story to tell and the diligence to type all those words into a computer have pretty much disappeared. And that’s a good thing.

Sort of.

The problem with typing up your masterpiece and clicking “Submit” at Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing or Barnes and Noble’s Pub-it or at Smashwords or at whatever other self-publishing venue might be out there is that being an author—if you’re serious about it—involves so much more than just writing the book.

What about editing? Have you done any? And I’m not talking about self-editing, I mean real, back-and-forth editing with a pro who knows what she’s doing. Can you take the constructive criticism intended to make your book the best it can be? Are you willing to change your baby based on someone else’s input?

What about cover art? Do you have any idea whatsoever about how to design a cover that will draw readers to your book? “You can’t judge a book by its cover” is a pithy little cliché, but unfortunately it doesn’t hold water with most people. Cover art is the first thing potential readers look at and if it’s unimpressive or amateurish or just simply inappropriate, you’ve probably already lost them. Not a good thing if you’re competing with potentially millions of books.

What about promotion? Any idea how you’re going to go about the process of introducing readers—almost all of whom will be unfamiliar with you—to you work and convincing them that your book is the one to pick out of a practically limitless supply when they’re looking for a new read?

What about reviews? They’re pretty important to developing a reputation and hopefully some buzz for your masterpiece. How are you going to convince book bloggers to give your novel the time of day when they’re already booked up months in advance?

And while we’re on the subject of reviews, what about bad ones? How are you going to react to them? Because you will get them. Are you professional enough to accept that not every reader and not every reviewer is going to think your creation is as good as you think it is? In fact, some of them are going to be vicious, mean-spirited and nasty. Can you take that? Hope so, because if you respond, even just to defend yourself, you’re the one who’s going to come off looking petty.

And these are just a few issues, there are dozens of other considerations that factor into this author gig if you’re trying to be serious about it.

I came along just about the time publishing was beginning its seismic shift from an exclusive undertaking to basically an all-inclusive one, and boy am I glad I did. I won’t kid you, it wasn’t easy getting rejection after rejection from agents—hundreds of them, if you add up the ones I received for different manuscripts—but at the same time I wouldn’t change a thing. I learned a lot about myself, about my commitment to the craft of writing, about improving my work, about picking myself up and continuing when it seemed there was no way I was ever going to get anyone outside my immediate family to read my work.

Maybe the struggle doesn’t matter to those millions of people who believe they can be authors now, the same people who tell me, in all seriousness, “I should write a book, too,” like doing so involves nothing more than sitting down and pounding it out.

But it should matter to them. Because the day you can simply sit down and do it without a second thought is the day it becomes completely meaningless, the day “author” means “typist.”


Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

WEBINAR March 14th! How to get reviewers to come to you! (StoneHouse University)

Guest post by K.C. Neal

As an author, you have a product to sell. Not published yet? That's no excuse - you always have something to sell, even if it's just yourself! Before I published Pyxis last November, I had a product I had to sell to a very specific market. I needed to "sell" the ARC of Pyxis to reviewers.



The more reviews written up right when the book released, the better. Reviews are extremely important for buyer confidence, and book bloggers can give a book great exposure when they blog their reviews.



But as a nobody, unpublished, first-time author, how could I get reviewers interested in reading in reviewing my book? Well, I thought about it a lot, and I had a couple of revelations.  

And those revelations led to over 130 reviewer requests 

for an ARC of Pyxis - a debut, unknown book - over 3 weeks. 

Those were REQUESTS - reviewers coming to me. I didn't have to solicit, email, beg, or plead. I actually ended up closing to requests earlier than I'd planned because I didn't want to hand out a bazillion ARCs.



I applied the same principles when I started recruiting bloggers for my blog tour. And I ended up with three or four times as many book bloggers volunteering to host tour stops than I'd planned for. What a nice problem to have! :)

Guess what? Next Wednesday I'm giving away alllll my secrets about how to get reviewers interested in your book and get more blog tour hosts than you know what to do with. And how to do it with minimal effort on your part - by getting THEM to come to YOU.



StoneHouse University is hosting this webinar, and here are the things I'll be talking about:



• How to get bloggers to come to YOU for an ARC of your book

• Where to find blogs for your tour

• How to make your blog tour stand out from all the others

• More book blogger survey results - what book bloggers really want from authors

• What makes bloggers bump a book to the top of their TBR piles

• How to build great relationships with bloggers

• Helpful tools and widgets for promoting your tour and doing giveaways

• Detailed sample timelines for planning through follow-up

• The 1 thing that will make bloggers drop everything to help you (hint: it has nothing to do with your book)

• The 2 philosophies we use that get bloggers excited to work with us (regardless of whether they love the book we’re touring)



Here are the details - space is limited, so if you're interested don't wait to sign up!



Book Blog Tours Part 2: Advanced Tips and Tricks



Location: Online - just need an internet connection to attend

Format: Interactive webinar - you can live chat and ask questions during the presentation

Date and Time: Wednesday March 14 10:00 a.m. to noon (Mountain Time, MST)

Cost: US$50 for interactive live class, US$45 for video recording of the class

Topics We Will Cover: See list above

Register Here





If you missed Part 1, 10 Steps to a Successful Book Blog Tour (the webinar above is Part 2), you can purchase a recording of it for $45 - just email Aaron at stonehousepress@hotmail.com. Part 1 is a great foundation for understanding how to plan, structure, and carry out a book blog tour. Here's what one attendee had to say about Part 1:



Feedback from Book Blog Tours Part 1: 10 Steps to a Successful Tour

“Just finished attending the Blog Tour webinar with
Aaron Patterson and K.C. Neal presented by StoneHouse University.
Sooooo worth the price of the ticket. Check it out at stonehouseink.net
and link to their SH University page for future offerings. In this brave
new world of digital EVERYthing, authors can’t afford to miss
opportunities to learn from those more experienced in cybermarketing.
Just plain brilliant.

Thanks, so much.”



—Sally J. Smith, Writer

Learn more about StoneHouse University

Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

Social Media 101 What NOT to do (Author Edition)

Social Media 101

Okay people, we all live in this online world and I know it can be hard to know what to do and as there are not really rules set up let's look at what to do and what NOT to do.

I am going to talk about what NOT to do first as it seems many of us are having a problem with this part of our online lives.

Comments on Facebook
You do not have to respond to every controversial comment or post. In fact you should avoid them if you can. We were not meant to know people this close and for some getting on FB or Twitter can be shocking. We go from knowing some things ab out our friends to knowing what they think about EVERY subject ever created. Our natural reaction is to comment and let them know what we think and thus the fights begin. Good rule of thumb, talk about nice things and if someone is just being a jerk do not follow or friend them, it is okay to unfriend people...even if you know them in person.

Marketing your book
Market yourself by being yourself. Not by pushing your book or health supplement on people. People buy from who they like, if I do not like you I will not buy your book. Get to know people, talk and post once every now and again, most people know you have a book as it is your profile picture.

Confrontation
So I pissed you off, now what? Well, you should not blast in public all about me and how I kill small kittens. You should send a email to me and deal with it that way before going off half cocked all over Twitter and Facebook. It just makes you look bad not me. If you do not like what someone is doing deal with it in private. There are people that I know online that are scamers and downright #lame. I want to scream from the TwitterTop and warn people about them or what they are doing with some publishing scam or whatever. But do I? No.

It is about control, try to control yourself. Send a email or make a call. Live above them, do right and all the others will work out by themselves. Most of us authors will not take the time to research what we are all mad about. Try stopping and looking at it all without your black glasses on. The only time I will name names and call out someone is if I am pushed into a corner and have to in order to defend myself. But that is the very last step and I do it with care as if i am going to name names I will do it with open guns and I am not messing around at that point. But like I said...last resort.

Twitter Auto Tweets
Come on peeps... be there... be here with us. Be present. I understand setting up auto tweets for time sake, but the same tweet over and over and over again? Really? And we read it? Nope...I gloss over and look for the real people having conversations.

Facebook Groups
Do not invite random people, it is rude. Follow the rules of the group. I can't count the times I delete posts from the same person over and over again because they will not follow the rules. If there is a no promotion rule, do not promote. Come one peeps...*note: if all you do is link to your book not one person will read it or follow the link.
Join the conversation.

Facebook Bleeding Heart's
I do not care about the poor sheep in Montana or the starving trees in Iceland. Most of it is just to get you all worked up and you re-post and share the sad picture that I have to gag over... again, conversation and what do you want me to do? Go over and feed some starving tree? I am not going to give money so what is the point? Oh...yeah, to put guilt on people for living in the US... got it... *small rant.

The main thing to remember is to be nice and do not do something that you would not want someone else to do. You know...like we learned when we were 6.

If you have a beef with someone don't go off on them, be an adult and hold your little Twitter fingers. Authors, I know we are all excited about books and reading, but be careful about who you hook up with. There are a ton of scams that look all good but all the scamer wants is to sell you their book. Ask yourself, do they push their book on you? Do they push you to follow rules that they made up? Do they blast others, cuz if they will kill another author if you cross them they will kill you as well. BE SMART...oh and be NICE!

That is all...

for now

Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

The Fine Art of Getting People to do What You Want.

Face it, we all have a silly and sometimes evil agenda. If you don't, you are lying to yourself or have nothing to do. So what is it you want? Do you want to live on the beach somewhere, have a super cool car or travel the world? Do you want to live in the middle of the woods and never see a human again, or be on TV so everyone knows your name? We all want something out of life and as writers and readers a big part of our world is about books.

So this Christmas I found as I am sure you did as well a ton of Tweets and messages from authors encouraging and downright nagging everyone to buy or download their book. I do not have a problem with authors pushing their work and I think more need to learn how to treat their art like a business if it is to go anywhere.

But when is enough, enough?

A business that markets all the time, forces and nags will end up getting ignored or pissing people off or both. So how do we Indie authors learn how to push in a gentle way? What is the line from being annoying to being smart?

First I want to be the first to admit that I have also pushed to hard, forced myself on others thinking that was the only way to sell books. But I learned that it is not about what you are saying and more about who you are.

I used to work in sales at Golds Gym, they are high pressure and will do whatever it takes to close a sale. I was taught how to sell and the one thing that stuck with me was the saying: "People buy from who they like."

I was 3rd in the country for sales in Golds because I put aside the high pressure and made friends. If I thought the client could not afford the membership I would tell them to pass and save their money and eat better. They would look at me in shock not expecting to be told not to buy, and even my boss did not like my style as I let a lot of clients walk without buying. But I made up for it by closing everyone else. Why? Because they liked me and trusted me to tell them the truth even if it was not to buy.

I do this same thing with my books. I was at a Costco signing and a lady was asking me about my books and I could tell from the other stuff she was reading that she would not like my books. She was going to buy them and I took then from her hand and said, "You know, you will not like these books, they are a little scary for what you read."

She thanked me and left without buying.

I saved her from being angry with me and saved myself from a bad review. Your book is not for everyone, it is not the best book on earth and it is not going to be a movie. There, feel better? Find out who your reader is and market to them, and I mean be a friend to them.

Social Media is a great way to make friends, but if you use it like a new way to spam everyone you meet it will hurt you in the end. I did send out a few tweets and a Facebook thing on my books over the weekend but I tried to offset that with talking and other things to bury the book push.

And yet I saw some authors tweeting their book and pushing it out like every hour. Even book bloggers were like STOP, and they LOVE books!

But even without really pushing hard this last weekend my sales on amazon went up in a bug way. I think I sold over 1000 eBooks and doubled my books sales in just two days. My ranking went up into the top 300 and made it to #4 in the Hard-Boiled Thriller category. How did this happen?

It was not because I nagged readers or sent out emails. I spent about four hours the week before Christmas tagging on Amazon. Yes, tagging.

I figured more people were going to look on Amazon and if I was seen more I would sell more. It worked in a big way and I did not have to bother all my friends. And did I just be selfish and tag my book? Nah... I also tagged other authors books that I thought would help them out. I do not know how it works with everyone else but Amazon and the tagging system is amazing. You can link your book and yourself with other books. So I took the time and every day I tag on amazon, it is part of my job, part of being seen.

Is not what you do over a weekend but what you do day in and day out. I think I have been tagging for the last two years and I will keep doing it as long as it is an option on Amazon. The one reason B&N does not sell as many books is they do not have this tagging system, it is hard to find other books and authors you might like because they are not set up to sell. But that is another post.

This is a long term thing, you are in business, do what it takes day after day to make it as a writer. and next year you can have a good time watching the other authors stressing over sales and watch yours go up as you sip eggnog. I hope this helps and I know readers, bloggers and the rest of us will be happier as well.

I wish you all a happy new year and please GO BUY MY BOOK NOW!!!!!!!!!!! Lol
Just kidding, Have a good one, be happy and keep writing.

Aaron






Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

Bloggers and Book Reviews: Guest Post by "The Bookish Brunette"

Hey everyone! I’m Ashley, I run a book review blog called The Bookish Brunette but I’m here today on The Worst Book Ever (dude, being an author and all- maybe you should change the title of your blog... Just a thought) because Aaron asked me to write a little post from a book blogger’s point of view on the things TO-DO and the things you NOT to-do do when talking to a blogger about your book. Now remember, the things I’m about to tell you are just MY opinion- other blogger’s may completely disagree!

I’m a big fan of lists, so that’s how I’m going to attack this thing! The “TO-DO” list, being the acceptable and preferable way of handling things. And the “DO NOT- (UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES) DO” list, being the things that will more than likely make me say NO to reviewing your book.

Let’s START with the positive:

“TO-DO”
(the acceptable)

1. 

Book bloggers not only have our blogs to maintain, events to host, books to read, review and promote... We also have LIVES. Families, birthdays, holidays, bedtimes, dinner to make... You get the point.
 

When sending a review request, help us out- it will make our lives a little easier if you just send us the info we need:

• In the subject line of the email put:  Review Request: (Title of your book)
• Title, Publication details (date... etc)
• SUMMARY of your book

It’d be AWESOME if you included links to your:

• Website
• Twitter
• Amazon
• Goodreads (or similar)

 

2. 

READ MY REVIEW POLICY. You’d assume this is a given right? WRONG. There are always clear indicators when my review policy has been ignored... For example, when I get a request asking me if I only read zombie books. Uh... Really? I mean... REALLY???

3.  

Be professional, now I only say this because that’s what you’re SUPPOSED to say. In my opinion, I like a more personal approach- because I’m about as unprofessional as they come. I know right? Is it that obvious? I’m not a fan of formalities, as I happen to be a very personable kinda chick.

4. 

Have LINKS posted on your website (to Goodreads, Amazon, B&N... ANYWHERE your books can be viewed or purchased! And make sure they are updated regularly!) You’d be surprised how many authors don’t do this... Some don’t even HAVE websites. If that’s the case I can’t even begin to assist you!

5. 

Spellcheck is your friend. I’m a HORRIFIC speller... that little squiggly red line is my BFF. If my seven year old can articulate a better email than you, then you’re chances of me accepting your book for review aren’t very good. I look at it like this: If your review request email is badly written, I can’t imagine trying to get through an entire book.

6. 

If you want your book reviewed within a certain time frame, ASK. Let me know, or it just goes to the back of a very long line... My review queue is CRAZY- I do my best, but I guarantee nothing!

7.  

Watch what you say on Twitter... or on ANY social network AND who you say it to. I’m totally not even being sarcastic either. This is VERY important. There are certain authors that I REFUSE to read because of things I’ve seen posted from them on Twitter. Yeah... their book may be the best thing since the freaking Internet- guess I’ll never know.
 

If you KNOW me at all or have ever witnessed one of my Twitter conversations *giggles* then you know I’m not exactly the picture of freaking “nice, sweet, chaste, ethical or modest” Right? But, I’m also not trying to sell books... so do with that what you will!

•    •    •    •    •    •    •    •    •    •    •    •

 

Now... FOR ME, if the following things occur the chances are VERY slim that I will review your book:

“DO NOT-DO”
(the unacceptable)

1. 

When you are requesting a review or even “casually” bringing up your novel to me, DON’T say to me “I know you’ll love my book.”
 

Seriously. This totally freaking irritates me! HOW do you know I’ll love your book? Name me 5 books that I LOVED, that somehow relate to your genre of writing. If you’ve looked at my blog and researched ME enough to KNOW that I’d love your book- then you should be able to tell me.  

2. 

DON’T address an email, “Dear Blogger”. I get that you’re busy. Hey... ME TOO! But again, if you’ve taken the time to GLANCE at my blog- my NAME is at the bottom of EACH and EVERY post. I’m not even picky, I’ll take ,Bookish Brunette’ and of course I’m ever partial to ‘Zombie Queen’ *grin*. But addressing me as ‘Book Blogger’ tells me several things:

• You didn’t even LOOK at ONE post on my blog. If you don’t care, then neither do I.
• You surely can’t know anything about what types of books I may enjoy.
• That ‘Book Bloggers’ are all interchangeable to you. If you’ve worked with any of us, then you know this is in fact, very much NOT the case.

3. 

If I say no to your request once, and you feel you MUST ask again... Fine. But, I’m PROBABLY going to say no again. DON’T get mad, WHY would you WANT me to review something I don’t think I would like? Do you really want me to give you a negative review? I HATE writing bad reviews. Seriously.

4. 

DO NOT SEND ME THIS:

Hi,

My  book is called “****”. It’s Science Fiction. I would love for you to review it on your blog.

Thank you,

****

WHAT??? I can’t tell you how many of these I get. Um... No. I’m sorry, I don’t have time to hunt down a description and decide whether or not I want to review it or not. Not because I think I’m ‘so important’ but because I’m busy.

SEND ME LINKS, or give me ALL THE INFO that I’ll need to know about you and your book in your email! (refer to #1 on the “To-Do” list)

5. 

Dude... DON’T insult me or my blog. I once had someone tell me that my blog was “too pink” but they’d still like me to review their book. Really? No thank you- me and my PINK, stiletto rated blog of AWESOMENESS have better things to do.

6. 

DO NOT assume that I’m going to review your book. ASK ME. I absolutely can’t stand when I get a “request” that says, “When will your review be posted?”
 

How about, “Never. Is never good for you?” because when you just assume that I have the time or that I WANT to read your book, I’m going to be a tad irritated.

7. 

DO NOT ask me to review your book on Twitter. This irritates me. I’m sorry, and this may make me a horrid human being... Well, so be it. Go to my blog and shoot me an email, it takes five minutes total. There are a few reasons for this, and I’ll name them for you:

• I keep all my review requests in a special folder in my email, so I’m able to refer back to it and contact the author. Over Twitter, I have no such email... and chances are your request has thus gotten lost.
• When you ask me over my Twitter feed, I have a real issue saying NO if I have no interest in reading your book. Hey, it happens. If you write historical war fiction, chances are I totally don’t want to read it at all. Not saying the writing isn’t amazing, but guess what? It’s not something I’m into. And honestly, do you want me tweeting to 2,500 people that your book holds no interest to me? Yeah, neither do I. Just don’t do it.
• The exception to the ‘NEVER’ ask over Twitter rule, is if I’ve already shown interest in reading your book (ex: it’s on my Goodreads wishlist or something similar). Then, and only then is it acceptable to assault my twitter feed.
  

Hopefully this will help... someone. And honestly, if I seemed harsh or hateful- I totally didn’t mean to. I’m just an honest and often times sarcastic type of chick (comes in handy with the whole review thing and all) Thanks for having me on Aaron!! Wicked thrilled my opinion is soooo sacred to you!

~Ashley~
The Bookish Brunette

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Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.