*Most of these books are written for the author and book blogger in mind. I will give my brief review of all of them as an author and blogger*
Blurb:Do you feel out of your comfort zone when dealing with book bloggers? They are the New Gatekeepers to book publishing success – but how can you tap into that source of free promotions by putting your best foot forward?
The Author’s Guide to Working with Book Bloggers combines the advice of 215 blogging professionals collected in a survey covering all aspects of communication between authors and Review Blogs. Whether you are a new author, or have many titles under your belt, let us demystify the promotion of your book on a book blog.
You’ll learn about whom and where book bloggers are, and the following:
The Query,
The Review,
The Giveaway,
The Author Interview,
The Guest Post,
The Book Blurb Excerpt and Cover Reveals and more!
“I’ve found Barb’s advice on forging a professional relationship with the blogging community indispensable. Her step-by-step approach will help you garner the reviews needed to increase book sales.”
–Christine Nolfi, bestseller author of Treasure Me
The Author’s Guide to Working with Book Bloggers is available on:
AmazonUS | AmazonUK | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords
If there is only one book that you read, please read this one. As a blogger, everything they covered is spot on and something that every author should adhere to. Bloggers can be your best friend or your worst enemy. I’ve never been the “mean girl” nor do I practice bad mouthing authors when I don’t like a book, they don’t show up to at least acknowledge the blog, etc. I move on and forget about it.
But I will say one thing that they didn’t mention…do your research on the blogs that you want to be on. This is very important. Also, some blogs schedule out 3-4 months in advance. Or they take a break (*blushes*) from reviewing, so go to the blog, read it and then go from there.
Creating buzz for your book – and your career as an author – just got easier. Go Global: Building an International Author Platform That Sells will help you decode the mystery behind building a powerful author brand and navigating the social media platforms essential to publishing success. Social Media and WordPress Consultant Barb Drozdowich will steer you through the technology behind international marketing without all the techno-speak. She has helped many authors just like you build an author platform that engages readers and builds sales.
Go Global teaches you why you need the various facets of the author platform to build visibility. Barb uses a simple analogy, Operation Book, to help you understand the steps to successful book marketing in the media age. She covers:
– The Difference between a Website and a Blog
– What Your Blog Should Contain
– The Important Components of a Blog
– The Nine Essential Social Media Platforms
– Newsletters
– Amazon’s Author Central
With simple-to-follow steps, Barb will help you create and manage an Author Platform to support your career.
Again, if there is a second book to read, it’s this one. While I don’t use half of the social media sites that Barb talks about, I do realize the importance of them. I only have one book out so for me to go to pinning is sorta pointless for me. My book is there but that’s about it.
I also agree that a blog is better than a website if you are just starting out. Its more instantaneous and yes, people still read blogs. 🙂 Websites are expensive and if you don’t have a good backlist, it’s not worth it. Also, don’t hire someone to build your blog either. There are some bloggers that are more than willing to help you for nothing. 😉
Go Global: Building an International Author Platform that Sells is available:
AmazonUS |AmazonUK | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords
What are Book Blog tours? Are they something that you have tried yet? “Book Blog Tours – An Essential Marketing Tool for Authors” covers the topic of Virtual blog tours from beginning to end with the following topics explained:
• What is a book blog tour?
• How is a tour different from Online Public Relations
• How to set goals for a blog tour
• How to choose a Book Blog Tour Company for your book
• Giveaways and Tour Graphics
• Author responsibilities before, during and after the tour
• Follow up and planning for your next tour
• Book Blog Tours from the point of view of a book blogger
This book covers all aspects of a Book Blog Tour in easy to follow language that will help any author take on the challenge of a blog tour with confidence.
Again, I agreed with the book but you also need to research blog tour companies as well. Some are fly by night and some expect too much from the author and bog you down with some stupid stuff.
My I signed my contract for my debut, I worked up my media kit. I had to wait for my cover and approved excerpt but I had everything I needed to send to a tour company. You need to do this for every book that you have. Be prepared as soon as the contract is signed. Your book will release quicker than you think. 🙂 Great advice again…
Book Blog Tours – An Essential Marketing Tool for Authors is available:
AmazonUS | Amazon UK | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords
The Ultimate Goodreads Guide for Authors is the must have book for all authors. Every author has heard of Goodreads – some like it, some not so much. With over 120 color graphics, this book leads you through the process of creating your account, adding your books, making friends and so much more.
Let us share with you all those little gems of networking potential that Goodreads offers, such as:
– Blog posts
– Excerpt downloads
– Widgets
– Apps
– Event invitations
– Groups
– Polls
– Lists
– Trivia and Quizzes
– And many more
The Ultimate Goodreads for Authors is the most comprehensive book available today. Suitable for all authors, from the newly published to the experienced. It has something for everyone to learn.
I hate Goodreads as a reviewer but love it as an author. This is my favorite book that I read because I learned some stuff that I will be doing to my author page soon. The step by step instructions, graphics…its there and more. I’ve been using Goodreads the wrong way as an author and with this book, I hope to rectify that soon. *sigh*
The Ultimate Goodreads Guide for Authors is available:
Getting help to promote your book just got easier. Public Relations for Authors Take Hold of Your Own Promotions will help you locate that special publicist who will help you promote your book the right way. A Publicity Director for two publishers Babs brings knowledge to this book.
Public Relations teaches you why you need a publicist and how to find the right one for you. To understand what you need she covers:
How publicity can help sell books
What you need to know about publicity
Writing Pitches
Media Kits
Press Releases
Where to find a PR agent
What to send to your PR agent
For me, this book didn’t really pertain to me but it was interesting on how to get a publicist and what their role is in the big picture. Recommended reading for the author that is looking to hire one. 🙂
Public Relations for Authors is available:
Amazon US| Amazon UK| Kobo| Barnes & Noble| Smashwords
About the authors:
Barb Drozdowich
Bio: Social Media and WordPress Consultant Barb Drozdowich has taught at Colleges and Universities, trained technical personnel in the banking industry and, most recently, used her expertise to help dozens of authors develop the social media platform needed to succeed in today’s fast evolving publishing world. She owns Bakerview Consulting and manages the popular Romance Book blog, Sugarbeat’s Books.
Barb can be found:
Bakerview Consulting (Business Site) http://bakerviewconsulting.com
Barb Drozdowich (Author Site) http://barbdrozdowich.com
Sugarbeat’s Books (Book Blog) http://sugarbeatsbooks.com
Facebook(Author blog) https://www.facebook.com/BarbDrozdowichAuthor
Twitter http://twitter.com/sugarbeatbc
Google+ https://plus.google.com/110824499539694941768
Babs Hightower
Bio:Babs has been helping authors since 2000. She owns a book review blog Babs Book Bistro which got her started in PR and helping authors promote themselves. In 2012 she started working for Entangled Publishing and worked her way up to Publicity Director over the Scandalous Imprint. She is a publicist for World Castle Publishing. She is also known as Morgan Kincaid writer of Historical Romance.
Babs can be found:
Babs Book Bistro website: http://www.babsbookbistro.net
Babs Hightower PR website: http://www.babshightowerpr.com
Author website: http://morgankincaid.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/babsbookbistro
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BabsMorganKin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BabsHightowerPr
Facebook Author: https://www.facebook.com/authormorgankincaid
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/babsbookbistro/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1970552-babs
Google +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/102563748897854093407/posts
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/babsbookbistro
Thanks for sharing about these books and what you found helpful! I’m heading over to check them out now 🙂
Hi Delsheree! Thanks for dropping by and visiting! I hope you enjoy our books!
Morning Harlie! Thank you so much for reading all of our books and sharing your thoughts! All the books were written to be helpful and I’m glad to hear that you have found them so. Babs and I are determined to help authors – especially the new ones! It’s not nice to be stumbling around in the dark. So much nicer to approach a situation with knowledge and confidence!
I’m happy to answer any questions that may come up either from you or your readers!
Thanks again!
Barb
Barb, I’ve also posted this on my author blog, too. Valuable information that every author should read.
Here is the linkage: http://www.harliewilliams.com
Harlie
Thanks Harlie! I’ve shared that post as well! Your kind thoughts are much appreciated!