Welcome back!

With the recent additions to the Sable Lit Reviews page and with reaching the midpoint of the Chocolate Hearts contest, a little housekeeping is in order.

At the start of the contest an additional sign-up box was added to Sable Lit Reviews. The Sable Lit Reviews Newsletter box, located in the upper right column is what needs to be completed if  you’d like to subscribe to the free newsletter.

If you’ve been visiting SLR for a while now, you’ve probably noticed the Posts Via Email box. This is the box where you subscribe to receive blog posts via email or blog aggregate account to view all new content from all the blogs you may be following.

What’s the difference? The Posts by Email will deliver the new blog posts from all the blogs in which you have subscribed to one place. The Sable Lit Reviews  Newsletter is a seperate subscription to more indepth content than what is found on the blog. It’s just more of what get on the blog, but with more insight and greater detail delivered to you once a month.

I hope to get the first issue of the newsletter out to subscribers by mid-March. The launch of the Newsletter is also in conjunction with the Chocoloate Hearts Bookgiveaway sponsored by Hachette Book Group.

Speaking of which, have you entered yet? We’re just beyond the mid-point you still have time.

For all the details on how to enter please see the following link:

Chocolate Hearts Contest

Here’s a reminder of what’s at stake…

Thanks for supporting Sable Lit Reviews and Hachette Book Group!

                 They say writing is a solitary affair, but if the writer desires to become an author, then knowing when and how to promote your work is essential for literary survival.

                 In the first article of this series, we discussed the primary tools a writer needs to draw attention to his or her work. Once you have set up your personalized domain name and website and the press kit and Internet marketing tools have been developed, it’s time to gather the elements for the tangible marketing campaign.

                 It is imperative to have little gifts to give perspective readers at the book signings, writers’ conferences and workshops you may participate in. You might be thinking, “Isn’t that bribery?” and “It can’t come cheap.”

                No, it’s skillful book marketing.  Thousands of books are published every month both online and off, what are you going to do to make sure your book stands out?

                  Readers may not buy your book at first glance, especially if you are not a well-known author. Handing out items like bookmarks, buttons and other trinkets that bear your product’s likeness will go a long way to keeping you in front of your target audience. Your next thought might be, “I’m in the industry, as a reader I get a ton of so-called trinkets that stay buried in my conference bag if they make it home with me at all.” True, but that’s why your trinket must be unique and useful. Everyone gives out bookmarks, buttons and book cover flats, but differentiation is key.

                Look, don’t be a tightwad. We’ve all seen those teabag packets with the makeshift address labels affixed to the front to market books. Those don’t work because once the wrapper is removed and the bag is used, who remembers what the tea was associated with anyway. Certainly, those book covers are designed to sell books, but what does one do with book cover flats? I still haven’t figured that out. Don’t mortgage the house to invent some one of a kind marketing trinket but make sure it’s useful and memorable.

                 Debra Owsley, owner of Simply-Said Reading Accessories has a very powerful message to get this point across. Picture the day after a very successful writers’ conference. Numerous bookmarks and author tri-folds litter the ground. How are readers going to remember you if they don’t value your marketing materials? Your book is a homemade literary work of art, right? Well, maybe the marketing trinkets you use to tout your book should be as well. These items have numerous uses. From gift bag stuffers or contest items to viral name spreading tools, your book marketing materials need to stand apart from the rest. Nothing represents individuality like Simply-Said Reading Accessories. With a variety of bookmark sizes and bookplates designed to represent your book in the best possible light you can’t go wrong. Also known for fun book thongs or book jewels that hold your reading spot, readers will know you cherish their time and the money they spend on your books when you give these fun trinkets away as appreciation gifts.                  

                There are many printing companies, which include bookmarks as part of their portfolio, but why not get your bookmarks, bookplates and other trinkets from one supplier? Also, those other printing companies are just that. Printing companies focused on mass-production rather that being a true artisan designing items for the books and authors we all love. That’s what you get with Simply Said Reading Accessories. Look at what’s possible at www.simply-said.net.

 Once the hard work of writing your literary masterpiece is finished and it has landed a contract, you are set to embark on your national book tour and countless standing-room-only book signings. Then the only thing left to do is to hit the writers’ conference and talk show circuit.  

 While this may be the sequence of events in an author’s wildest dreams, they are generally not the reality. Only the very popular and bottom-line raising writers get book tours and promotions at the expense of others. The rest of us, especially multicultural authors, must hock our literary wares like any other salesperson. “I’m a writer, not a car salesman,” you might say. Well, in this publishing age, it is expected that authors will do more than write a great story in order to ensure their profits. In order to keep the book contracts and royalty checks coming, authors are required to participate in more aspects of the publishing industry than in the past. Publishers are less willing to absorb all the risk involved in launching the work of new authors or authors with mediocre sales.

 Writing success has a lot to do with marketing and branding. Yes–branding isn’t just for companies anymore. No artists, regardless of their product, can reach the highest pillars of success without branding themselves. Artists are known not just by the work they produce but also by their public persona. This notion is not restricted to Tinsel Town either. While the work of many writers tend to take on a life of its own, (think J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter or Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter series) most writers share the spotlight with their creations. Authors of color must work even harder to get their work noticed by a broader audience.

For those multicultural authors aspiring to the levels of Rowling, Kenyon or even Beverly Jenkins, be prepared to get not just your book out there but your name as well.  Publishers will provide some marketing materials in the form of book cover postcards or flats, but they reserve the bulk of their marketing budget for their big sellers. The rest is up to you. Here’s just a short list of what you’ll need:

·  Author’s website with your own domain name

·  Business cards

·  Internet banners featuring your book

·  Press Kit

·  Social networking presence

Not included in the list above are many more sources of book advertising, which we’ll discuss in future articles. For now, your question may be “How am I going to accomplish this?” Many authors join writers’ communities where they can seek advice while many others outsource these tasks. This article will give you a source for your author’s website, press kit and Internet banners.

There are many literary promotion companies but selecting the best for you may depend on your target audience and your desired results. You want a promotion company with a passion for the types of books you write. If you write ethnic fiction or romance, you would not entrust your publicity and promotion to a company that focuses on nonfiction fare. Also, if one of the princes or princesses of Internet publishing is representing your work and not one of the publishing kings of New York City, you will require a promotion company with a big email list. They should have a stronghold in publishing cyberspace. Here are a few things to look for:

1.      What does the promotion company’s online presence look like?

2.      Do they appear to be web savvy?

3.      Who are their clients?

4.      How are they promoting them?

5.      Where do their promotions appear online, if Googled?

6.      How big is their reach?

7.      What services do they offer and are the prices reasonable?

8.      Is there a variety of promotion packages for varying budgets?

Of course, you’ll want to determine your monthly promotion budget and estimate how much you are willing to do for free on your own. However, having a partner in the form of a literary promotion consultant can go a long way in developing buzz for your multicultural or ethnic book and supporting its presence instead of just creating a flash in the pan.

One company that meets the above criteria and can assist in satisfying the needs mentioned earlier is EDC Creations. With stellar skills, such as graphic design, web design, branding, product and event promotion, imprinting, and press kits as well as a huge email list and online presence, EDC Creations leave no publicity and promotional rock unturned. Whether it is live podcasts, email blasts or Web 2.0 design, EDC Creations provides deep penetration in the multicultural and ethnic fiction markets. The mark of a truly well rounded literary promotion company is not only in the services it provides but also in the relationships it creates.

As a newly published author, I have had great pleasure in showcasing and expanding my creative talents as a client of EDC Creations. At EDC Creations, you are more than a client, you and your talents are embraced in the family-like fold held together by the desire to provide great ethnic and multicultural literary products to a growing segment of society that craves it.

For more information on EDC creations, click on the banner!

No one knows something about everything. That’s why the ability to conduct thorough and efficient research is essential for any successful entrepreneur. Whether you are a writer or business person looking for the next profitable niche, research a is tool in your success toolkit. Research is vast unto itself. Not only are multiple resources required, but no resource list contains all the possible sources available. To be an authority on any subject, research is required. However, without the proper tools, a writer or entrepreneur could spend more time searching than writing.

Google is one of the best sources for information a researcher can use. While it is more convenient than your local library, it often requires a significant amount of time to wade through inaccurate outdated material disguised as useful content. Also, your typical search engine is very static. It only provides results based what you submit as a query. There are many ways to query a subject that may bring up different results, but no one person can think of them all. Keyword tools can help but again your results are based on what you put into the query.  Additionally, not everyone knows all the tricks and techniques to narrow down the search and produce a variety of source formats efficiently.

Instead of flipping between multiple browsers to scour multiple search engines and keyword tools hoping to cover as much ground as possible in the shortest amount of time, why not utilize software that combines these efforts into a very in-depth and intuitive interface? Redpath’sResearch Wizard Pro accomplishes just this task. Not only can you query various search engines and keyword tools, it makes suggestions to help you fine-tune your probe with keyword phrases and resource formats you may not have even considered. Maybe what you need is an image, a PDF, an audio or video clip? Research Wizard Pro swiftly allows you to select those options as part of your research query instantly. Nothing is more daunting that submitting your search term and being greeted with page after page of semi-related links. Research Wizard Pro can put your scanning skills to good use by placing these jam-packed link pages on a timer which you control. No more stiff fingers due to clicking from one page to the next. Lastly, Research Wizard Pro has a search tool for anything you are looking for on the Net. From encyclopedias, dictionaries, maps, Bible verses, shopping, health, travel, keyword search, niche building, web traffic monitoring and website origination facts, you can narrow your search with a click of the icon.

Personally, research was becoming a grueling task even for a self-proclaimed info junkie like me. As a full-time freelance writer and romance novelist, research is an integral part of my work. I first came upon Research Wizard Pro in a writing magazine ad.  I immediately pulled up the product website and I instantly knew the way I conducted research would never be the same. When buying software, there is always that fear that it won’t be user-friendly. Research Wizard Pro is highly intuitive. I was looking for something to that would shorten my research time. Research that is more efficient is only the beginning of what Research Wizard Pro offers. This software is highly customizable and instinctively provides options for research that wouldn’t occur to the most experienced librarian or archivist.

                Redpath Media thought of everything. There is filter for any category in which your search might fall. With the highly responsive customer service and the informative video tutorials, you can’t help but put this software to good use.

                Most recently, I used Research Wizard Pro to find a secret occupation for the hero in my current novel in progress. Within a matter of minutes, I had come upon a very unique occupation I would have never thought of on my own. If your business could benefit from efficient and thorough research consider Research Wizard Pro, it’s essential for any knowledge-based business or for researching any start-up.