MSI Press Blog

It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.  Today's post looks at the difference between book marketing and book promotion, two terms that are frequently confused. Leading to the confusion is that some of the same activities are needed for both. In fact, good marketing is dependent upon good promotion. Perhaps the essential difference is that marketing focuses on sales, and promotion focuses on awareness --  noting that without awareness, sales generally do not happen. Book Marketing Book marketing includes promotion, sales, and increasing awareness of the availability of the book. It generally starts with a marketing plan that identifies the target audiences and selects marketing t

  It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.  Today's topic is, again, marketing. We address the question: What should authors be doing for marketing?  There are a couple ways to answer that question. There is an expensive answer and there is a hard answer. As with anything else in life, the choice is between money and time.  Choosing money, marketing efforts can be delegated to paid support: Hiring a full-time or full-fledged publicist is the most expensive and the most expansive. While some publicists are less expensive than others, hiring knowledge, experience, and contacts is never cheap. (And, often, like other things in life, you get what you pay for though bargains exist.) H

It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.  Today's topic is, again, marketing. We address the question: What matters in marketing?  Here are a couple of answers from our experience: consistency and presence. What does it mean to be consistent? Be where people expect to find you once they "meet" you on whatever platform you are using. Blogging? Then, if you cannot blog every day (and most authors cannot), blog on specific days so that readers know that they can find you on blogger on Fridays, for example. Or, link up to the blog hops and participate in each weekly event.  Be about what people expect you to be about once they read your book. We write about books--our books-

  It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.  Today's topic is, again, marketing. Marketing can be grinding. Marketing can be frustrating. Marketing can be boring. AND marketing can be fun! Yes, really. Want a little fun (and marketing help)? Head over to Photofunia . Their effects are creative, easy to use, fun (yes!), and, best, free!  Here are some of the effects we have used from among the dozens available for help with marketing our books: Book launch announcement Creating buzz about a book Sharing wisdom from a book or about a book These attractive icons are fast and easy to make. They make marketing easier and fun. Use them in email, on blogs, on social media platforms, or ma

  It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.  Today's topic suggests building sales on the basis of sales. In other words, don't let a sale go to waste; don't let a sale be a single event. Here are some ways to use sales to bolster sales. Add fuel at the right times.  If social media of any form is part or all of your platform, you should always be consistent at posting – the same day(s) each week.       You can also get good effect on sales if you add posts, tweets, etc. at the right moments. If you notice that your sales rank just dropped, you can assume the book has sold (though there may be no other evidence yet of it having done so.) Grab the opportunity to tweet, post,

  It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.  Today's topic addresses a topic that comes into my in-box on a regular basis, at least once or twice a week: a self-published author (either thought self-publication would provide more control and money or was unable to land a traditional contract) does not like the self-publication results and would like a re-do, i.e. start over again with a traditional publisher/contract. To cut to the chase, this is the content of the typical response I send to these queries: Thank you for your submission. We have a policy of not re-publishing previously        published books, so your book would not be of interest to us.  Of the data available from A

  It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side. Today's topic suggests that the two best-kept secrets to effective book marketing, in our experience and opinion, are word of mouth and repetition. Word of mouth.  This is not your (the author's) word of mouth, but, of course, it starts there. And you may need to restart the conversation, again and again. It is everyone else talking about your book, which is why things like media/podcast appearances help – even presentations for your local library or Rotary Club or wherever people in your community gather for whatever. Word of mouth can take some time, and it can move on to other things, if someone (or someones) do not keep the talk g