Emdashery Blog

I'm in the encyclopedia! I'm somebody now!--

Wikipedia is the exploding online encylopedia--a friend to every researching writer and fourth grader preparing a social studies report. In the true, wiki fashion, Wikipedia allows anyone to add and edit content, so while the accuracy of its content is sometimes called into question, it certainly offers an astounding breadth of information.

Since most writers are familiar with the product, it seems that a few can't resist the temptations to post their own entries, specifically their own entries about themselves. What better way to aid your credibility than to say you're in the encylopedia!

Wikipedia has strong volunteer policing that sniffs out blatant attempts at PR, but it is possible to get an entry to stick. The Big Bad Book Blog has some tips on how to go about it.

The ultra-low barriers to entry into Wikipedia, the encyclopedia that anyone can edit, have prompted many to ask: “Why not write an article about myself?” Whether or not this is a good idea depends on who you are. Most Wikipedia users don’t care to read about Joe from Boise’s affinity for black jeans and Springsteen’s early work. But what if the person in question were the author of a book—perhaps a book with a brand-new Web-savvy marketing campaign? Unfortunately, it takes more than authorship to get respect at Wikipedia. But it may still be able to give you a push.

Read more here...

Look under the HaperCollins covers--

HarperCollins has launched a "Browse Inside" widget for online book fans. A widget is an internet device that provides simple code that can be used on a Web site or blog. The Technorati search window in the lower right section of Emdashery is an example of a widget. The Browse Inside widget (similar to the Amazon.com Browse Inside function) will allow manages of Web sites, blogs, and social networking sites such as MySpace to post excerpts from HarperCollins titles.

From the HC press release:

HarperCollins Publishers today announces an innovative campaign to promote titles online through its digital warehouse. The Browse Inside widget enables fans and authors to embed sample pages of their favorite books directly onto social networking sites and blogs, marking the first time a syndicated reader for books has been available online...

"The Browse Inside widget - when spread through online communities - is today's equivalent of picking up a book off of a friend's coffee table and glancing through it," said Josh Kilmer-Purcell, New York Times bestselling author of I Am Not Myself These Days (Harper Perennial). "It's my electronic calling card to online communities."

Viewers will be able to read sample pages that include the covers, front matter, back matter and first three pages of chapters one and two.

Playing games with book promotion--

Brian Haig, novelist and author of Man in the Middle, has an online game where you can test your knowledge of recent military controversies. In the game, you decide whether the different events are part of a Haig novel or an actual event.

You wouldn't want it to be your sole source of information on our honorable military, but the game is creative, has cool music, only takes a few minutes.

Check it out here:

Where is the right home for your book?--

In the midst of marketing a book, one big promotional decision is sometimes overlooked: on what bookstore shelf should your book be placed? In this Publishers Weekly article, Sara Nelson takes a look at the impact of James Frey's A Million Little Pieces on the shelving decisions of booksellers and librarians.

But while industry folk and the people who love to talk about them—at least once in a while—ponder the bigger questions, a cooler head might see them all as one spectacular manifestation of a very old and really rather simple publishing problem: How do you define and market books, and what are the up- and downsides of doing so?

Fiction or nonfiction? Novel or memoir? That should be the easy part, and we can only hope all the recent hand-wringing will clarify the distinctions that have gotten blurry of late. But a far more common—almost everyday—problem for publishers and booksellers is determining which books should be aimed at which niches, and which niches are most likely to buy.

How do you want your work defined? Should you go broad or for a narrow niche? Is your work easily defined? Or will it get misshelved on some back nether aisle because booksellers can't figure out who it is intended for? All of those are important promotion questions to address even before you write the first word.

How to publish a blovel--

Yesterday, I mentioned the CAN! Blog, which shares tips and experiences in the world of book marketing and promotion. In this post, one of the blog's authors, Sarah Anne Sumpolec, discusses her innovative attempt to stay connected to her readers while between published book projects.

I found myself with a book idea I was passionate about and no publisher willing to take a risk on it. I could choose to sit around with my lemons or figure out how to make lemonade with what I had.

The trick though, is to be risky and experiment, but be smart about it.

Her idea that wouldn't sell was a YA novel written in poetry. She still wanted to publish the story someday, so she shelved that particular novel, but wrote another poetry novel to publish on a blog. By posting the story in serial format, she hoped to keep her teen readers happy and keep her name out in public while she worked on getting another contract. She also used the blog novel to attract readers to her other published works.

You can read how she did it here. And you can start reading the novel, Totally Unfamous, here. I believe we're going to see a lot more fiction on blogs in the next few years.

You CAN do it too--

The CAN! Blog is written by a group of writers who belong to CAN--the Christian Authors Network. Twelve authors contribute to the blog, and they post about their experiences with marketing their books:

As published authors, we long to share our victories and struggles with regards to marketing and promotion. No one really ever told us about this part of the business of writing, so, like you, we are learners. Won't you learn alongside us?

The authors have had a lot of marketing experiences to share. Recent posts have included tips on doing radio interviews, working with publicists, and creating a book trailer. Check them out here...

Getting those endorsements--

The Contact Any Celebrity Blog has tips on how to get celebrity endorsements and testimonials for your book. Here are the five tips. The blog is by Jordan McAuley who's been on CNN and other networks promoting his Celebrity Black Book of contact information.

The New Emdashery--

Focus. It’s important in a career, in a family, or in a blog for that matter. Early in a career, we might try to make an impression by racing around and trying to be all things to all people. In our family, we might exert enormous energy by signing our kids up for every possible extracurricular “opportunity,” keeping a neat and spotless house, and generally trying to train our family members to be perfect people like us.

Eventually, we realize something has to give. We must focus on what’s important or what interests us the most. We learn that saying no to the other stuff can give us peace.

Well, today is Friday for Focus Day at Emdashery. I started this blog four months ago with the idea of posting about writing, words, and their impact on the world. If that sounds just a tad bit broad, you’d be right. But at the time, I was more interested in learning about blogging, and I wasn’t so concerned about the focus of the content.

But as I blogged, I noticed that I often gravitated to posting about creative ways writers were promoting their books or distributing their books. The Internet and digital technology are changing the publishing industry, and I’m fascinated by the new opportunities. I also noticed that those posts often attracted more interest than the others.

So, I’m entering Emdashery into phase two of its maturity process. Over the last week or two, I’ve focused almost entirely on that special interest of mine. That will continue permanently. I might still drop in an occasional quote or a “random distraction,” but going forward, I’ll focus on providing a central source for highlighting the book promotion and distribution creativity of writers.

Thank you for reading my blog, and I hope the new focus will continue to interest you.

Yeah, but does the book burp when you open the cover?--

What if an author went out and introduced her novel through a series of houseparties-- a cross between a literary salon and a Tupperware Party?

What if the author devised a fun format and starting with her own friends, got together in little gatherings to talk about books, writing, creativity and whatever else friends talk about?

Those questions were posted by author Patry Francis who did just that. She noted that bookstore readings are well and good, but most people are too busy to get out of their homes, and when they do, there isn't much chance for them to talk with the author. So instead of readers going to the author, what if the author went to the readers through private parties?

She brought the idea to her publisher, and they loved it and offered to help start a party tour. The publisher's response showed:

Once again, it demonstrated that the more an author does for him or herself, the more their publisher will do for them.

Read more here...

The tiers of book buyers--

J.A. Konrath at A Newbie's Guide to Publishing tries to breakdown the different categories of book buyers. He makes an interesting comparison to the acknowledged breakdown of technology buyers:

An author named Geoffrey A. Moore wrote a book called Crossing the Chasm, which is all about selling technology driven products. Moore believes that the majority of people who buy a product only do so after the 'early adopters' (15% of the buying public) embrace it. If they do, then early majority, late majority, and laggards (83% of the population) follow suit.

For the past few weeks, I've been thinking this is a pretty good model for the book biz, and explains why some books become major hits and others fail.

While books are sold one at a time, not all book buyers are created equal. There are tiers of importance.

Konrath categorizes book buyers into: 1st Tier: Diehards; 2nd Tier: Heavy Users; 3rd Tier: Casual Users; 4th Tier: Johnny Come Latelys. As usual, he's very detailed and quite thought-provoking. Check out the rest here...