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That’s right Gawker is having a contest. They are looking for men who are 1.) hot and 2.) straight that work in book publishing…agents, editors, you get the idea.
So, nominate your favs…
I am sure this contest is horribly sexist…but in the interest of this blog’s readers I felt a duty to post the info. ;)
Have a great weekend!!
Cheyenne McCray has a great post over at The Midnight Hour today on whether agents and editors visit authors’ web sites and blogs when considering a manuscript.
I think this is a HUGE deal. People get on the Internet and IMO completely lose the filter that applies in other situations in their lives. I had read an interview a while back with an agent who talked about going to a potential client’s blog and seeing a list of all the other agents this writer had subbed to and how many rejections she had already acquired. Did this put this agent off? Sure did.
I also have a friend who recently discovered an unpleasant post about her book on a message board. No big deal, right? It happens. BUT it was written by someone she knows. Someone who to her face had acted supportive. Obviously the talons of jealousy had griped this person, but you’d have to be Mother Teresa to not let it bug you. You think my friend will be helping her in the future? I sincerely doubt it and if others learn of the post, the woman will get a reputation that could hurt her even more.
So, before you hit enter…think. Would I say this in person? Is there anyone in the world I wouldn’t want to see this? You may just want to implement the backspace key a bit. :)
I have a friend who is being pushed hard right now by her agent to promote her books. But does promotion work?
Personally, I think 99% of it doesn’t. I majored in advertising and worked in newspaper sales and marketing for most of my professional life. When advertising the expectation is that 1% of people who see your ad will react. Now, this percentage can go up astronomically if you are using a targeted media, but unless it is a newsletter targeted to people who asked for more information about your books, it will fall far short of 100%.
Consider a market like Romantic Times. Some of those readers only read romantic suspense or erotica or whatever you don’t write. So, you are going for the ones who might consider what you write. From there you have to consider the cost vs. benefit equation. Are there enough of those people to justify the cost? There may be and there may not. And then, if you decide the cost is justified, you have to develop an ad that will actually draw those people in. There are a lot of ifs there.
Other cheaper methods–running contests on your web site, having a blog, commenting on other blogs, visiting booksellers, doing signings, etc.. May be better from the cost equation thing…but there is still a cost and it’s a big one. TIME. Time equals books you aren’t writing. So again you have to weigh this.
As just one example–the vast majority of people who enter contests online just want to win a prize. Many of them come from blogs and sites that conveniently list contests and the answers. Realize this and again weigh. I’ve decided I like having a contest and the cost is low enough the exposure itself pays for my efforts. And I like having something for people who actually do read my books.
Booksignings I’m not big on. Although, I do group ones. And some are great–like my local RWA chapter ’s signing at our annual conference. However, I make a point to go into book stores and sign stock. And I am hoping to get a group of local romance authors together to do a signing at a nearby Waldenbooks store this year. But me sitting at a table all by my lonesome? Not something at this point in my career, I’ve done.
This all said, I do choose to do some promotion. But I always consider the cost/benefit equation before doing anything. And the very best thing you can do to sell more books? Write more books. Write better books. Get more books out there so readers know your name and (assuming you did the better part) want more from you.
Aside from that a lot of what makes the biggest difference lays in the hands of the publisher–book cover, store placement (which is paid for by publishers), etc. And which books do they give that extra push? The ones they think are the most marketable, by authors who have readers who want to read them…back to writing better books and getting more books out there. Really, you can’t get away from the fact that the number one thing you can do to advance your career is to write and to write to the best of your ability.
For what some readers say has influenced them to buy a book, here’s a great poll going on at Virtual Cocktails.
Seriously, summer is going to kill me. I’ve made it through one week–but it was one of the weeks where the kids have swim lessons. That is good.
Our city pool is very inconveniently located. And people are crazy. Yesterday two 15-year-olds on bikes without helmets decided to dart out into the street in front of me–from behind a van. So, I had no clue the little darlings were there. Then they had the 15-year-oldness to look amused. Hard to look amused when you’re imitating a hood ornament. Luckily I wasn’t going that fast–or yeah, hood ornament time.
So, four more days of swim lessons, then one week of normal cheerleading class, spin class, etc. Then Dallas for RWA National. Probably need to do the outfit evaluation bit soon. Bike shorts and flip flops aren’t going to cut it.
Oh, and during all of this I am writing. I have a self-set deadline I really want to make for the Wild Hunt (Venge’s story) and two other projects I want to get moving on. When I can, I work on the Wild Hunt during the day and one of the others at night, but summer is kind of putting a stop to that deal.
On the up side…no coats to lug around, I don’t have to wear five layers of clothing while typing and I get to spend more time with my kids. And then there are vacations. Those are good too. :)
It’s going to be monthly, but the first one is tomorrow night at eHarlequin–8 p.m. Eastern. :)
Today was the last day of school. To celebrate, my son and I picked up my daughter…they were out at 9:15…and we went for ice cream at TCBY. Seems innocent enough. I ordered a small heath shiver. A SMALL. Thinking this would account for a couple of snacks, but nothing to drastic. I come home and look it up…a SMALL heath shiver made with 96% fat free frozen yogurt has over 610 calories! I kid you not.
I am now trying to convince my stomach that it is oh so full and satisfied. (It’s not buying it.)
:(
Lori
It stinks some times, doesn’t it? Well, I just figured something out. To write dark I need to start with the hero’s point of view. I always do this with my Nocturnes, so maybe it is just habit, but I have just made three attempts to start a book from either a third characters point of view or the heroine’s and it came out snarky both times…not dark. I want dark.
The start of a dark book is really important to me. The start is important with any book, but with a dark book I really need to cement the mood before I can start. And, for some reason this seems easier in the hero’s point of view. Go figure.
So back to the thinking board. I have to figure out the mood…what is going on that is dark, so I can write dark. Sigh.
According to The Association of American Publishers, publishing sales in April showed a decrease of .3 percent but overall for the year sales are up 6.3 percent…so all is not quite the gloomy picture we keep hearing about. Unfortunately, adult paper back sales were down 3.2 percent for the month and 2 percent so far for the year. Adult hardcover had it tough in April losing 11.8 percent but for the year this category is actually up, 19.4 percent.
The winners? Childrens/YA, audio books, ebooks, and religious books. Read the entire press release here.
Latest find at Your Virtual Book Bag…
Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?
Publisher: Virgin ‘Cheek’
ISBN:978-0-352-34100-6
Release date: May 29th
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, unless you’re Lauren Redstone. In her case a little klutziness at a hotel bar turns into an unexpected opportunity to indulge in her most erotic fantasy-sex with a real honest-to goodness cowboy. But when Lauren wakes up the next morning, she discovers she’s indulged in more than a night of incredible passion-she’s wearing a sparkling gold wedding band.
But Lauren’s plans don’t include a life-time commitment to one man. Not when she has a nice safe life with her retro props business and a firm desire to stay far away from controlling men like her father. Love isn’t even a factor in her game plan. But her sexy cowboy isn’t ready to fold his hand just yet. Can he convince her that true love always wins in the end?
5 stars…an incredible story about families and how they deal with each other…Brava Ms. Pearce, please write another! JERR reviews
5 stars…”With a vivacious hero and heroine, genuinely depicted emotions and steamy love scenes, Kate Pearce fills this story with passion and real-life moments.” Single Title reviews
Okay, this is just funny…who said publishing bigwigs didn’t have a sense of humor?
Random books from my shelf...
