Phoenix Publishing and Book Promotion

Yes! Tomorrow is August 9th–a Special Day for #BookLovers Everywhere

Why? Because it is National Book Lovers Day! There are so many ways to celebrate and enjoy #BookLoversDay.

Love Your Library

I’ll be posting a book tour review for The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs (The Physick Book 2) by Katherine Howe and I must say it’s different and I’m really enjoying.

Reading and writing reviews has virtually replaced working on sales and promo. Back when I was still working on marketing the manuscripts I published for my grandfather, I joined the Phoenix Publishing and Book Promotion Meetup in Phoenix. Laura Orsini leads the dynamic group and at one meeting introduced a guest from New York who mentioned a unique book share idea called BookCrossing. She said if I’d choose a book, get a BCID number, she’d take it back to New York and leave it somewhere appropriate where it’d be sure to be picked up. (Location is important, of course.)

I LOVED the idea that the book might travel out of New York to who knew where, each new owner registering the book along the way according to the instructions on the little card left with the book. From the website: “BookCrossing is the act of releasing your books ‘into the wild’ for a stranger to find, or via ‘controlled release’ to another BookCrossing member, and tracking where they go via journal entries from around the world.” Of the idea, the New York Times said, “if you love your books, let them go” and the San Francisco Chronicle said, “a modern-day message in a bottle.”

Well, I chose Lucky Joe (BCID: 365-13531083) and registered the book in August 2015, then waited with bated breath for someone to log in to the website and enter the identity number. She notified me she’d left it on a bench in Central Park, New York City, and sent me a pic of it. Thrilled! So I waited and waited…and waited…and finally forgot about it thinking someone picked it up alright–probably to use as TP.

It wasn’t until I thought of it now and signed into the website to see whatever happened to it that I discovered the problem. After I registered the book, it was up to me to get back in and mark it as released! Oh groan!! Reading the stats that are recorded, it goes somewhat like this:

Books registered
Released in the wild (duh)
Controlled releases
Releases caught
Controlled releases caught
Books found (etc.)

UGH! Now seeing that, I’m thinking, why not try it again? Pick a different book? Hopefully, you’ve learned something today along with myself. (Don’t make the same mistake I did.)

1 journaler for this copy…

Journal Entry 1 by smcshane from Goodyear, Arizona USA on Tuesday, August 11, 2015

This book has been registered and is ready to travel! This could be a great adventure–watch for progress.

The promo and marketing journey is extensive (and exhausting). A giant learning curve that I am still negotiating (obviously).

So I must ask: What unique ideas have you tried for marketing your books? Have you ever seen this before? Let me know in your comments, please.

Many Thanks for the Support!

Many Thanks!

This blog has now achieved 10,000 hits! The blog has been a labor of love, lots of work, and I’ve learned a LOT. I’ve appreciated each and every one who has tuned in, liked, and followed! Thank You, TY!

Okay, if I were honest with myself, I’d have to admit not all are human views (some perhaps attributable to bots?), however, maybe that’s not a bad thing. (I’m getting more referrals.) Still I’m pretty excited that this means two things:

I’ve achieved my first goal
I’ve stuck with it (and it’s taken awhile!)

I must admit that I began the blog as a way to connect via social media after I’d published my grandfather’s manuscripts. (Yes, I know that was actually backwards. I should have started the blog first–then published!) Like I said–I’ve learned–a lot.

As my “About Us” page notes, I discovered after a couple years of posting reviews for fellow authors (shout out to Idaho Authors Community and Phoenix Publishing and Book Promotion that I was beginning to receive requests for read and reviews. Finally–a niche of my own!

The continued push on social media now has me posting on Instagram (and Bookstagram). I’ve gone back and linked my social media, so most posts will now hit Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn when I publish on this platform. (I’m not sure if that is a good idea or not, but I’m all linked up anyway. And I always need more followers there as well!)

Now confronting SEO and hash tags. Heaven only knows if I’m doing any of those right, but something must be happening. I have 10,000 hits.

Next goal–**1,000 true subscribers**, (or in my case, followers) since I’ve agreed with fellow blogger and author Joynell Schultz all along. 1,000 true subscribers (followers) is a good goal. ©2017 Virginia Williams

The 4th Annual Phoenix Festival of the Arts-Coming in December

The Margaret T. Hance Park in Phoenix, Arizona, is home of the fourth annual Phoenix Festival of the Arts on December 11 – 13, 2015. Jointly sponsored in part by APS and Lou & Evelyn Grub, the arts festival hosts a weekend-long event showcasing arts, entertainment, exciting food trucks, and over 125 vendor booths! And, of course, there will be a beer and wine garden.

I love craft fairs, art festivals, or book signings, either private or with a group.

Phoenix Festival of the Arts

Presented by the Phoenix Center for the Arts, the event is free.

This park, dedicated in 1992 and named for Phoenix’s first female mayor, covers over 32 acres. It is actually situated over a freeway tunnel and is part of a major cultural center that includes a Japanese Friendship Garden and Irish Cultural Center.

The Phoenix Publishing and Book Promotion group now consisting of over 582 members will have two booths strategically planned for two hour intervals in each of the three days. I will be posting the times for my participation at a later date.

The dynamic organizer, Laura Orsini, has a full spectrum of marketing and promotion planned from banners with author’s book covers to MeetUp T’s.

I’m especially excited over the postcard that Laura is planning and having printed that will include a QR Code linking the participating authors to their websites, books, social media addresses, and 10 pages of content.

The Meetup typically meets twice a month that may include seminar type meetings with handouts or guest speakers. The wide range of topics cover everything from creative writing, publishing, self-publishing, eBooks, marketing, and social media. Within the social media spectrum are discussions covering “Life Beyond Facebook,” and other related sites.

Additionally, there is also an informal Meetup to match names to faces, network, and exchange tips. Laura has set up a group blog to keep us actively writing to which we contribute once a month (and we’ve volunteered to do so–mine is the 12th of the month). We’ve recently completed a grueling 35 day Author Blog Challenge!

This Meetup has met my expectations of finding help in the marketing of the books published for my grandfather–my responsibility even if they had been traditionally published–and I’m really looking forward to the Phoenix Festival of the Arts!

Resource Box

Can You Expect Success If You’re Mentor-less?

DAY 4 PROMPT: Who are your writing role models? Whose writing has most influenced you? Who are your writing mentors?

Can You Expect Success If You’re Mentor-less?

I don’t know if you can find success without having a mentor, but totally agree with Patrick Hodges of the Phoenix Publishing and Book Promotion Meetup who wrote yesterday regarding the value of beta readers. Having tried that and being on the giving end of an review swap without the reciprocal receiving end, he’s right in that it has to be “people you trust to read your work before it hits the Internet.” Fortunately, I did find one on Goodreads willing to perform that task for the next book, although I’m somewhat reluctant to trade a review of my 168 page historical anthology for his 637 page telepathy, telekinesis, and teleportation (sci-fi fantasy) odyssey. The spirit is willing but the eyes are weak!

Okay, I have another Goodreads buddy who has read it and willing to enter a review, but hasn’t yet performed “beta” duties. I absolutely love his work, however, and have read, rated, and reviewed a pre-release for him–Michael Reisig. He would constitute what for me is a role model. The description of his characters leaves you smelling the sweat or feeling the tension, seeing the terror in their eyes–wide with shock. And the way his characters hold and exhibit their respect for each other is a delight, often felt, impossible for most to actually put into words. The scenes are riveting, whether 300 years ago or 40, on the back of an ox on in a Beechcraft skimming the waters of the Caribbean at sunrise. He has written the “Road to Key West” series, “Hawks of Kamalon” among others, but my favorites were “The Treasure of Tortuga” and the Treasure of Time”.

Somewhere between my musings and his mind-blowing, page-turning sagas lies a real artist. Would that I could attain somewhere near that.