Warming up Your Cold Calling - Tips for Authors

As writers, we often have to make cold calls to contacts to find out about events, signings, and other marketing opportunities. Here are some suggestions that may help build relationships, so it’s not always a cold call. It’s much easier to talk to people you know and who know you.

1. Build Relationships with other writers in your area to share information about signings and events. It’s much more fun to do a group event than to sit alone in a bookstore.

2. Make a calendar of annual events and festivals with contacts and dates. This way you’ll know what’s coming and when registration is due. Make sure you add to it as you uncover new events.

3. Build relationships with booksellers in your area. Your first visit to their store shouldn’t be when you’re inquiring about doing an event. Frequent their stores and attend their events.

4. Know your local librarians. Many contact authors or writers’ groups when they are looking for speakers or they are hosting special events. My writers’ group has provided keynote speakers to Friends of the Library events, conducted writing workshops, supplied author panels, and wrote three scripts for “Murder at the Library.”

5. Volunteer to teach a course. This helps you make contacts. I often teach technology or social media classes at senior centers or for other chapters of my organization. And if I give out my slides or handouts, they’re branded with my logo and website.

6. Develop a collection of panel presentation ideas in case you need to create a proposal for an event. It’s good to have a wide selection that you can easily put together. I keep a short description and requirements (e.g. microphone, projector, etc.), along with a bank of questions that I can use for panel discussions. That way, I don’t have to create everything from scratch each time.

7. Think out of the box. Are there nonfiction hooks in your work that would be of interest to groups or businesses? Think about settings, hobbies, and your sleuth’s job. There are a lot of specialty groups on Facebook, and many have newsletters.

8. Book signings don’t have to be in bookstores. Think about themed gift shops, museums, and restaurants that may be possibilities. “Noir at the Bar” events happen in bars and restaurants.

9. Talk to everyone you know (just don’t make it the first statement when you introduce yourself) that you are a writer. I’ve done presentations at libraries, schools, bookstores, book clubs, and women’s groups because someone knew me.

Ways to Plan Your Book Marketing

Your book launch and overall marketing efforts need some planning to be effective. Scattershot marketing often doesn’t work, and you end up spending more money than you want. Here are some tips that can help you get started or get organized.

• Determine your budget before you start. Spend your money where it will be most effective. Make sure you include your time in your cost calculations. Guard your writing time.

• Get a calendar or make a spreadsheet to track your efforts. It’s often hard to tell what makes a difference to your sales sometimes, but if you record dates and events, you can see if they tie into spikes in sales.

• Make sure that you are always collecting names for your newsletter/email list. Put a sign-up form on your website. Collect names at every event you attend. Your website and newsletter are things that you truly own. If a social media site folds or bans you, you lose access to your followers there.

• Spend some time each week building your key social media followings. While the number of followers doesn’t always translate to book sales, it is a way to become known and to share with others, and if you’re querying agents or publishers, they often look at your social media following and posts to see how active you are.

• As you plan your launch, reach out to friends and other authors to do guest interviews or posts. They only cost you your time, and it’s a way to reach new readers. Make sure you return the favor and help other authors.

• Build your author group or street team ahead of your big launch. This is usually a small group (usually a private Facebook group) that helps you with early beta reads or ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) reviews. I reveal news and book covers to my All-star team ahead of public announcements. They also help me spread the news when I have a new book. Many leave reviews and request my book at their library.

• Build your team of author friends who will share and celebrate your news. By sharing their news, you form a strong, supportive group.

• Look for events that promote your book. Reach out to book sellers, libraries, and other stores that will be willing to host a signing. Sometimes you have to be creative, and you have to make some cold calls. Look for events that you can include other authors. It’s more fun, and you expand your audience with multiple authors.

• Start early. I track the three months before launch and the three months after to give me a baseline of the activities. I also spot-check my analytics weekly to see what’s working and what isn’t.

Early on in my writing life, I signed up for everything that came along. I’ve learned to be a bit more selective these days as I focus my time and money or events or activities that tie into my marketing plan. In the early years, we did multiple author events (several often on the same day). While they were fun, it got to be too much, and I found that I was doing more events than writing.

Keep track of your activities, and then do a quick lessons learned to determine what worked for you, Keep what worked and jettison the ones that didn’t.

Using Nonfiction Hooks in Your Book Promotion

When you’re planning your book promotion strategy, make sure to include the nonfiction elements that would be of interest to readers. The goal is to always expand your audience, and this can help you look for areas where you can promote your work. Here are some ideas.

• Make a list of the things and places in your book. This will give you some ideas for creative promotion.

  • These are examples from my glamping series: Blue Ridge Mountains, Glamping, Virginia, Camping, Tiny Houses, and Jack Russell Terriers.

  • More examples from my Delanie Fitzgerald Private Eye Series: Private Eye, Sears Catalog Home, Larping, Roller Derby, Edgar Allan Poe, English Bulldogs, Mustangs, and Drag Queens.

• Look for social media groups and hashtags that relate to your nonfiction topics. When I launched my first Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries, I found a group on Facebook that promotes Sears Catalog Homes, and I joined. The members were helpful with research ideas, and when the book came out, they promoted it to their followers.

• You may want to do a postcard or an email campaign to businesses that are related to your topics. Many shops and museum gift shops may be interested in your book.

• Look for groups, professional organizations, and clubs (related to your topic) that have newsletters or blogs. There may be opportunities for you to do an article or a guest post.

• Find out if there are professional organizations related to your topic. You can pitch a guest article or interview them for their newsletter or website.

• Look for businesses related to your theme and approach them about doing an event or a book signing. I’ve been part of several Virginia and wine-themed anthologies through the years. We did a lot of signings at museums and wineries.

• Make sure to use your personal groups, clubs, professional organizations, and alumni groups. Most have newsletters or announcements that are willing to share your celebrations.

Book promotion is work, but sometimes it takes a little creativity to find new outlets to share your books.

Ideas for Places to Market Your Books

Writers are creative people, and sometimes, you need to think outside the box when you’re trying to find ways to market your book. Make a list of the themes in your book and look for places that share your interest.

• If your book has a theme related to a museum or historic site, approach the gift shop manager about carrying your book.

• Look for local gift, craft, or other stores that would be willing to showcase your book. We did a book signing outside of a Hallmark store one Saturday before Mother’s Day, and we sold a lot of books that were perfect for gifts.

• For our wine and cocktail-themed anthologies, we did a lot of signings at local wineries.

• Many campgrounds and state parks have stores and gift shops.

• Look for book clubs that will feature you and let you visit.

• Research organizations and clubs with interests covered in your story. They may be willing to feature you in a newsletter or ask you to speak at an event.

• Don’t forget the organizations that you belong to (e.g. clubs, houses of worship, alumni groups). Let them know about your book. Many have news and announcements for their members.

The Color of... - Tips for Authors

What’s in a color? What does it evoke? What are the associations? We all have our favorites. I absolutely loved my giant box of Crayolas. Oh, the options.

When my first short story was published, I decided to update my website. I matched my backgrounds, fonts, and graphics to the anthology cover that was in black, red, and white. It highlighted the book, and the colors were eye-catching. A few years later when my first novel came out, I was talking to a publicist about my marketing materials, and she remarked that my website was too dark for my writing style. She reminded me that I write humous cozy mysteries, and that I should use pastels instead of colors that remind readers of noir or slasher stories.

Here are some ideas of ways color that can help you with your marketing materials and writing.

• Google images of a color wheel. There are hundreds out there. When you select a color, this diagram shows you what compliments it. Colors directly across from your selection go well together. This helps when you’re selecting colors for headlines, subheadlines, and backgrounds.

• There are lots of articles and studies out there about the meaning of color and how color is used. These can also be helpful in your writing if you’re trying to show instead of tell the reader something about your character/scene. This one in Smashing magazine has a lot of good information. This site has some great memes that summarize each color.

• If you have input into your cover designs, make sure the color choices match the theme of your book. The use of dark or light should match the tone of your work.

• All of your social media sites should have the same “look and feel.” The pictures and graphics should have the same color scheme. Readers need to be able to identify you and your site.

• Words about colors (or lack of color) are key to your writing, too. This post from Writers Write has a good list of words to describe color.

Book Signing Basics - Tips for Authors

I am so excited that we’re getting back to prepandemic things like book signings and in-person events. Here are some reminders of things you may need to make your event successful.

Pens, Pens, and More Pens - Always have a stash of your favorite writing instruments. Look for ones with quick-drying ink to keep your line moving.

Office Supplies - Pack a small box of office essentials. You never know when you’ll need tape, paperclips, scissors, or rubber bands. Mine also has sunscreen, lotion, and hand sanitizer in it.

Give-aways - Make sure to have plenty of your give-away items like pens, bookmarks, and postcards.

Tablecloth - I keep a clean (and pressed) tablecloth in my bag. Sometimes, there is no table covering. And I always use it to hide my boxes and bags under the table.

Business Cards - Keep your business cards nearby for those looking to contact you.

Passwords - I don’t use my credit card reader very often. So I always make sure I remember the password and that the device is working before I leave the house.

Change - If you’re selling your own books, make sure you have enough change. If you have multiple books, it’s nice to have a sign with all the available titles and prices.

Drinks/Snacks - I have been at all-day events where there is no break for meals. I usually pack a small cooler with snacks and drinks.

Dress for All Kinds of Weather - Make sure you layer. You never know when it’s going to be too hot or too cold in a room.

Invest in a Cart - If you’re hauling supplies and books, invest in a durable cart. Books are heavy.

Extra Books - Always have a box or two of books in your car even if there is a book seller. Orders have been delayed and events sell out. It’s good to be prepared.

Best wishes for your book signing!

Putting Together Your Team - Tips for Writers

Whether your traditionally published, an indie, or somewhere in between, you’ll need to put together a team to help you produce and market your books. Here are some tips that can help you as you find the right resources.

• Writing is a business, and you need to treat it that way. Make sure you have a contract or statement of work before someone starts the job.

• Make sure you have clearly explained your requirements up front for the task.

• Understand the fee structure and payment before the work starts. Is it a one-time cost? If it’s ongoing, how much and how often are you charged?

• Know exactly what you’re getting for your money.

• Get the person’s contact information at the beginning. You may have a need to reach them other than through a website contact.

• Ask other writers for references.

• Check out samples of the person’s work.

• Understand the timeline (theirs and yours).

• Keep a list of your contacts. You may need to reach out to them in the future.

• A lot of the tasks (e.g. website maintenance, graphics, book trailers) you can do yourself with a little training. Google and YouTube are your friend. There are a lot of tutorials out there that will teach you how to use the software.

• Make a budget and determine what you have the time/interest to do yourself and what you need to hire others for.

You’ll receive lots of offers from people and companies to help market you and your books. Make sure you know what you’re buying. Do your homework and find the right resources for your brand.

Discussion Questions for Your Books

Book clubs, whether in-person or virtual, are great ways for authors to reach readers. It’s a good idea to provide discussion questions on your website. Many authors and publishers also include them at the back of the book. Here are some ideas that can help as you think about your book from a reader’s perspective.

• It’s good to provide readers with 6-10 discussion questions about your book and its characters.

• Try to avoid spoilers as you craft your discussion points.

• These are to spur discussion and thought, so avoid ones that can be answered with a yes, no, or quick fact.

• Look for themes in your book that you can highlight for readers.

• Make a list of pop culture and other references in your book. These can be incorporated into discussion items.

• Google '“book club questions.” There are lots of sites with generic questions that you can sprinkle in your list.

• If you have different books in the series, make sure that your questions vary and aren’t the same for each book.

• Create a page on your website for book clubs with the discussion questions.

• Think like an English teacher as you compose your questions. Look for items to compare, contrast, or explain.