After I retired I asked what to do with so much time. After doing a personal inventory of my experiences and background I decided to write a book. In school I had been told that I should be a writer. My father was a plumber and as the story goes he steered me to a real man’s job. I didn’t even think about writing as I raised a family and worked.
Turns out writing the book was the easy part. Selling it, getting it recognized in the public eye has been the real challenge.Chapter fourteen takes place at the 10,000-person Dallas Margarita Ball in Dallas. Because of this, the charity's Ball Director gave me exposure to their attendees and helped me get on a local Barnes & Noble New Mystery shelf. I made cold calls to Barnes & Noble store managers and gave them free copies to read and maybe stock. This resulted in another Barnes & Noble store stocking my book. It is too early to tell how many more stores will chose to stock my book.
I was able to round up over 3,000 email addresses to send personal memos to describing the story and asking for their consideration. I included the story line pulled from the back of The Tear in the body of the email. This effort has been difficult to measure though I have confidence that it has increased my exposure and maybe word-of-mouth advertising.
In addition, I have sent copies to soldiers overseas to Iraq and Afghanistan as well as other military bases. I was able to find the addresses and requests from the website Books for Soldiers. This again is difficult to quantify but my feeling is that it will promote the book. The books will be passed around from soldier to soldier getting a lot of exposure. In the final analysis, whether the book is a good read or not will determine its real success.
About the Author
Marion Mathis is the author of of a debut thriller, The Tear of Ra, The Second Coming of 9/11. His book can be ordered via his website at http://www.MarionMathis.com.Prior to writing his first novel, he served as an Electronic Officer in the Navy aboard an aircraft carrier operating out of the Pacific Ocean and the Far East. During his tenure with the Navy he occasionally worked with the Navy’s Intelligence group.
He graduated from Southern Methodist University and resides in Dallas, Texas.
Thinking of the mobile web as just a new way of using the same old Internet is a mistake. The mobile web is more than people using smaller screens to access the Internet. It is also about how people are changing the way they use the Internet - and the new tools that are emerging as a result.
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Lee Leffler has a Master of Arts degree in Professional Writing and an undergraduate degree specializing in Computers and Learning. A skilled writer, computer expert and computer trainer, she has worked in email marketing, website development, social media marketing, technical writing, technical support, training, software design and software testing.
No, the challenge the big book publishers are facing is that a perfect industry is being replaced by one filled with chaos and opportunity.
I've been reading your tips on book marketing for some time now. Well, I have been facing a critical problem here with book launches. My question to you is:
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9. Gift Shops - I am blessed to live near the Oregon coast, a haven for gift shops of all kinds. There is one town called Cannon Beach that has twenty gift shops in it. You can spend a day at one of these towns and do very well. Don't expect big orders. Gift shops will only want a couple of your books, but give them your card and mark on it how they can order more.
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Hanan thought my book should be retitled and sold as a reference book for salespeople and sales managers, using direct marketing and social marketing methods. It would not be sold through stores because big-box chains were reluctant to buy Pelican books based on their discount policy. The repositioned book would be similar to Physicians Desk Reference. The new title would be Salesman’s Desk Reference Book.
During the month of April I am hosting the 20-Minute Book Marketing Podcast series on my