Dana Lynn Smith was kind enough to host me at her blog, The Savvy Book Marketer.

Be sure to drop by and check out my column, Promote Your Book with Value-Added Content.

For years, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with MySpace.

When it first launched, I thought it rocked. There really wasn’t anything quite like it. I met some cool folks in publishing, learned about new writers and groups and was able to keep up with some good friends.

It didn’t take long for the Dark Side of MySpace (I’m in a Star Wars mood.) to rear its ugly head and make the site a cesspool of raunchy, troll behavior and youthful goth idiocy. They started an area for books, but it never seemed to work like the music section – which boomed.

When I finally joined Facebook, I found my audience. 

After about five years on the site, with few contacts and a LOT of spam and creepy emails, I decided to delete my account.

This wasn’t an overnight decision. As much as I don’t like the site, I had several qualms about deleting that account. I asked myself:

• Am I going to miss out on contacts? 
• What if someone takes my name and makes it a porn site and I lose out on work?
• What if someone needs to touch base with me and they cannot find me because they aren’t on any site but MySpace?
• What am I missing if I’m not on MySpace?

After a lot of (unnecessary) soul-searching, I wrote out a list of exactly how I use MySpace. What I found was that I didn’t use it often enough and got nothing out of it when I did log in. I was also concerned about hacking. I logged in so little on the site, I was afraid someone could easily tap into it and add some photos of genitalia or other equally mortifying flare. 

Since I don’t log in much, I obviously don’t keep up with folks on MySpace. Plus, when I am on there, I notice that many use third-party applications to update their streams. It’s not like they are "live" where we can chat.

Branding is a bit of a sticking point – one that I haven’t completely resolved. Do I really want to give up the network name? For once, I was able to get my own name without any numbers or extra letters. What if another Angela Wilson takes it over and makes it a porn site?

I have to remind myself that there are hundreds of social networks out there and I am only on a handful of them. I cannot control branding on each network.

Reasons I’m just not that into MySpace:

Loaded. When MySpace started putting up homepage backgrounds with heavy graphics and movie clips, my Internet connection revolted. No way can the AT&T crapless wireless connect handle these graphics – even in a 3G network. The site is not designed for anyone with less than high speed DSL, which eliminates anyone in rural areas and the occasional urban dial up pockets. It has definitely streamlined from the last time I logged in, but it still slow. For the most part, Facebook moves quickly, unless I’m in the highly-addictive Movie quizzes section. Then, all bets are off.

Trashy. Too many ads, worse "come-on" emails than lines I’d hear in a bar, few groups I like and too many nasty commenters. MySpace is bad about not patrolling profiles for inappropriate content, or managing bad comments. 

Unfriendly. On MySpace, I had 167 friends, many of them true friends and not just network contacts.  I have more than 800 on Facebook, many in publishing. Obviously, this is highly important for me personally and professionally. Also, several business clients are on Facebook and I can easily connect with them. I’ve sent pitches to reporters, responded to urgent questions, requested books and interviews and attended events on Facebook. I’ve had no luck with any of those things on MySpace.

Are you on MySpace? How has it worked for you? Share your thoughts and your handles in the comments.

You can find me on Facebook, or email angela@marketmynovel.com.

The results are in from the 2009 Market My Novel Author Marketing Survey!

Of course, these would have been to you much sooner than the end of January, but I’d wanted to create some nice graphs. That was this post’s near demise. After struggling to get the program to work for I don’t know how long, I chucked the idea and decided to provide these in text.

Here are the highlights:

It was a tie for the top marketing challenge of 2009: Nearly 38 percent of authors authors found it difficult to find the money for promotions and balancing family with writing and marketing.





While nearly 70 percent of authors created marketing plans, 63 percent of respondents said they thought their marketing efforts were only somewhat effective.





Nearly 90 percent y of authors listed Facebook as their top network. Seventy-five percent also used Twitter and half of respondents used GoodReads.





Sixty percent did not hire a PR firm or virtual book tour company for promotions. Nearly half said their publishers did not provide financial assistance for marketing. Only seven percent received financial help from their publishers, which 20 percent had a publisher that actively marketed their books.





Book tour expenses were the top expenses, followed closely by time spent on marketing.





Half of authors said some marketing efforts were worth it, but others were not. Only a quarter of respondents said their efforts were worth it.

So, what do we take away from this? Authors are working hard, on tight budgets and making some headway, but not what they’d like to make.

What are your thoughts on the final results?

Kim Smith

1. Ask questions.


2. Be positive


3. Create something worth reading

How do you organize and manage your marketing time so it doesn’t overtake writing time?




I have recently made a spreadsheet month by month of how I will tackle the marketing/writing situation, because it can be tough to keep the focus on the right stuff. Even still, I know there will be days when I just ditch the whole notion and go off to play Bejeweled.




Is it difficult to find a balance between writing and marketing?




Yes! One of the most difficult phases of this life, in fact. You can spend all your time marketing and get nothing new written, or you can spend all of your time writing, and no one knows who you are anymore. There is definitely a balance needed.




What is your biggest marketing challenge?




I need a thermometer that tells me when my temperature in the industry is going up. I need my readers to tell me that they are READING the books, or stories that I am putting out. A lot of times fans will just follow along and listen to your verbage but they don’t BUY the work. That is bad. Very bad. I can’t tell when I am hitting the mark with my marketing because I don’t know if the work is being purchased.




What’s the best way to connect with fans in your genre?




In the words of a popular movie, if you build it, they will come. I think that having a website, and a blog, and being at the hotspots of social networking gets me to the people who need to know me.




What else would you like to add?




I hope any aspiring authors out there with questions about writing or the writing life will contact me. I love writers!




Where can we find you online?




I am everywhere!




http://www.mkimsmith.com

http://pubd2b.wordpress.com

http://writingspace.blogspot.com




…and of course facebook, twitter, and other social networking sites. Friend me. I will friend back!

In a follow up to Monday’s post, How to Find Your Audience, I discussed ways for writers to find readers. Today, get some advice from other writers. Special thanks to Marilyn Meredith, Cheryl Malandrinos and Cheryl Kaye Tardif for responding to my shout out via Facebook!

Marilyn Meredith

Cheryl Malandrinos

Whale Song by Cheryl K. Tardif

Yum - apricots!

Good food makes great conversation.

No matter if you are out to dinner with friends, or skimming the best hors devours from the buffet at a party, food tends to bring out the conversationalist in most people.

Food is also terrific for marketing. I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve checked out a blog or Web site simply because the person shared a great recipe somewhere online. I’m not the only one; share a mouth-watering recipe on Twitter and see just how many hits you get on your site. I guarantee that even after the initial buzz you will nab more sustained hits or RSS subscribers.

This Saturday, Jan. 9, is National Apricot Day. Consider sharing your favorite apricot recipes with fans on blogs, or even posting on recipe Web sites, where you can sometimes include your Web site in your profile.

Below is an apricot recipe from my personal recipe library. Be sure to also check out how James Beard uses the sweet fruit in The Fireside Cookbook, a vintage tome reprinted by Simon & Schuster last year.

Easy Apricot Cake

When you have unexpected guests and need something sweet to go with coffee or tea, this is a terrifically easy recipe to pull together.

What you need:

1 can apricots, slightly drained

1 white or yellow cake mix

1 bar of butter (preferably real, salted)

Put the cake mix in a bowl. Use something to crumble the butter into the dry cake mix. Dump the can of apricots into a baking dish. Pour the cake mixture over the apricots. Bake until the top is slightly brown and the apricots are heated through.

This is fast and easy, and can be used with apple or cherry pie filling and peaches. Typically, most pantries have these items readily available, so it makes the perfect last-minute dish. I rarely have leftovers.

Market My Novel Tip: If you have special dietary needs – like gluten, wheat or dairy-free items – consider sharing these recipes in a special section on your blog or Web site. Trust me, there are many, many people searching for those. It is a specific niche, but could easily drive new traffic to your sites – and, perhaps, lead to sales.

On the Web:

National Apricot Day for Home Schoolers

Apricot Producers of California Recipe Box

Do you want to buy my book?!?!

In the comments section of How to Streamline in 2010, Market My Novel reader Beth Barany wrote:

Great advice, Angela! I wonder how you go about finding the right reader networks for your genre. I write YA fantasy, as yet unpubbed. What do you recommend? I want to be ready to build a reader network when I sell my novel. Thanks!

Terrific question! Finding readers isn’t as difficult as it may seem. Below is a pretty comprehensive list of tried and true methods. Some of these have worked for business and nonprofit clients.




I’ve divided them into two sections: How readers find you and how you find them.




You don’t have to use every method on these lists, and some may spark ideas for even better methods for your audience.




They find you

Web sites and blogs. Fans need to be able to find YOU. Be sure to have a blog and a Web site, or a blogsite (a combination blog and Web site). Get a domain readers can find, like your name or your series title. Share links to posts on your social networks.




Social networks. Readers are constantly trolling Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Shelfari and other networks for their favorite authors. (LinkedIn is used most for business authors, rather than fiction authors.) Be sure you have profiles on networks friendly to readers and that you are friends with other authors in your genre. If they don’t search for you directly, they could always find you via the friend list of other authors.




Event sites. You can post tour information at sites like BookTour.com or AuthorsDen.com for publicity. Many readers search for tour information, both electronic and in person, online. Be sure your information is readily available on these sites, as well as your blog and Web site.




Amazon. More and more often, readers are searching Amazon blogs, listamanias and communities for book recommendations. Be sure to have a strong presence by sending out review copies to Amazon reviewers in your genre and feed your blog’s RSS  into an Amazon blog. Also, ask fans to include your novels in their Listamanias.




Public events. People love to meet their favorite authors. Whether it is at a bookstore signing, or a convention, in person meetings are always the best in making – and keeping – devoted fans.




You Find Them

Hobby sites. Don’t promote yourself to the point of annoying everyone. Simply add a signature line that shows you are an author, with a link to your Web site. Be sure to follow site guidelines for signatures. Keep your signature under five lines. Three is terrific.




Guest blogs. They may not know you, but readers might be reading blogs by other authors in your genre. Be sure to guest blog as often as you can to expand your readership.




Guest speaking. You may be asked to speak about topics unrelated to writing or your books. However, these can still be key events to make contacts and garner attention for your work. Business owners who have written tomes can typically offer them for sale after a speech – especially when the topic relates to the book’s content. If you are asked to speak at a function that isn’t a book publicity event, find subtle ways to tell the audience you are a writer: Talk about what it takes to stay inspired, be sure your book is listed in your bio, or offer a basket of freebies that includes your book.




Publisher promotions. If you aren’t featured in publisher monthly e-mails or advertisements, find out why – and get featured. If your publisher has author pages, be sure yours is up-to-date and any blog features link back to your sites.*




Search Facebook. Check out other authors in your genre and send friend requests to others in their network. Let them know you are an upcoming author in the genre and would like to add them to your network.




Go to book signings for authors in your genre. Check out who is there and note their demographics. How old are they? What are they wearing? What other books are they buying? Do they drink coffee or tea? Do they wear T-shirts with their favorite bands or political sayings? These little clues can lead you to new networks for fans.




Advertising. For some authors, paid advertising in hard copy and electronic publications directed at readers works. Be sure the publications are targeted to your genre, or are must-read tomes for readers in all genres.




Online groups. Many readers belong to Yahoo groups on reading, or share their FAVs on sites like Good Reads or Shelfari. Connect with them on these sites.




Analytics. Google Analytics is a great way to see who refers readers to your site. Check out the top referrals list and visit those blogs. Start leaving comments that include your name and Web site. This is a proven method – especially when you really target the blogs you comment on.




Keywords. This could really go in either category. You need solid keywords so readers can find you in search engines. They should be able to type in your name, book title or recurring protagonist name and find you on the first page of Google or Bing. You don’t need a Web designer to do this for you – though it is always great if you do. Check out Google’s Keyword Tools page for details on how to use them.

Coming up on Wednesday: Tips from authors on how to find your audience.

With the end of 2009 drawing near, it’s a good time to reflect on marketing tactics – what worked, what didn’t, and how plans will change for 2010.

This year, you can be part of the First Annual Market My Novel Author Marketing Survey. It’s just questions – most multiple choice – about social networks and marketing challenges in 2009. It should only take about 10 minutes.

Click here to take survey – and pass it on!

The survey will close Dec. 30.

Thanks to all who can participate!

The Wall Street Journal offered up a story yesterday about Harper Collins delaying the release of the electronic versions of hardcover books in the coming year.

The most interesting quote is at the end:

One veteran literary agent in New York, Nat Sobel, a partner at Sobel Weber Associates, has been trying to rally publishers to the fight against cheap e-books. In a letter sent to 16 publishing houses last week, he urged them to consider postponing releases of e-books.

Warning that e-books could constitute 20% of sales next year, he wrote, “The future of hardcover publishing is at stake. You don’t have a lot of time left to save it.”

This reminded me so much of my time in journalism. For the most part, editors and publishers were too arrogant to think the Internet would impact business. Anyone who dared tell them they might want to restructure their business models went out the door immediately. They put up an obligatory Web site, but usually it sucked aesthetically and didn’t offer anything new, different or exciting from the print edition. Now, some media want bailout funds to keep going, or they want the government to start regulating bloggers, who they say are the reason they’ve lost business.

Quite simply, they refused to evolve and now they are paying the price for it. AOL was smart enough to start its own news branch to avoid working with news groups that plan to sue anyone who links to their information. (Can you imagine how dumb that move is? Leave it to the AP to think this is OK in today’s blogging society.)

AOL is adapting its business model and offer up something for the niche audience craves: online news for nothing.

When I read the WSJ story about publishers, I got the same impression. Publishers just don’t want to evolve – perhaps because they don’t know how. Print books are never going out – too many readers want them – but society is changing enough that eBooks are becoming more prominent. They don’t cost as much, are easier to “carry” in units like the Kindle and more easily accessible than they were five years ago. Perhaps my own biases colored the way I saw this article, but that is still how I feel when I reread it today.

Also, I have to wonder on these books that will be delayed… are these publishers doing any marketing for them? If these are major authors, they will sell themselves, and yet, the publishers will put huge budgets behind them and simply skip newbie authors, which can be crushing to a fledgling career. Do you have any idea the number of authors who tell me they get signed to a publisher, get their book published, then the publishing house does absolutely nothing to market the book? It is astounding!

It seems like publishers are missing an incredible opportunity to restructure their business plan (i.e. to evolve) and tap into the growing eBook market – something that self-published authors have done for a while now. It makes me wonder at the viability as an author of going with the traditional publisher versus self publishing. Certainly major writing organizations will not acknowledge my work if I self publish, but building a network online seems key to success, whether I remain self published, or eventually get with a traditional publisher. It certainly worked for authors like Scott Sigler, who netted enough fans to get the attention of a major publisher.

It seems like a strong combination of traditional and new technology is the key to survival in this highly-competitive business. Build a strong online network, offer content for those plugged in to technology and continue to integrate online and traditional marketing.

What do you think about the eBook delays? Will this move help or hurt the publishers? How will eBooks impact the future of publishing and reading? Do readers understand/care about this debate?

Be thankful for the bad stuff.

Typically this time of year, folks think about being thankful for being successful, healthy, having good friends and family – or a job.

No one ever wants to focus on the bad stuff, and yet, those horrid moments that gave you major heartburn can be some of the finest learning moments of your life – and can save you a lot of heartache in the future. This is especially true about tough marketing lessons.

Top three tough lessons of 2009 authors should be thankful for:

• Bad reviews. Never forget that sometimes, reviewers are just not that into you.
• Trolls. Some people get stupid, idiotic, mean and vicious when they don’t like something you say online. Even the nicest person can turn into a troll and make your online life hell. Have a policy for dealing with trolls on your own site, and force yourself to ignore their chatter on other sites (which works, for the most part). Be sure NOT to become a troll on a blog or site that didn’t like your work.
• Social media overload. As stated over and over again throughout this blog, you MUST be a good manager of time. Find the right networks for your audience and work them – but don’t let them work you. Word smart, not hard.

This list could go on and on, but these are the three major areas authors can really be thankful for lessons. Once you’ve been burned, you never forget the right and wrong steps it took to correct. What bad stuff happened to you this year that you learned from – and are thankful for that lesson?

Related links:

Etiquette Week posts

Time Management posts

One Author Speaks Out about the Bad Side of Online Promotions

The cool pumpkin photo above was found at ChainLeader.com.