Review in Practice: How to Market a Book
Posted: May 20, 2024 Filed under: book marketing, Book Promotion, Books, Nonfiction, Review, Review in Practice, Writing Resource | Tags: How to Market a Book, Nonfiction, Review in Practice, Ricardo Fayette, Writing Reference, Writing to be Read 6 CommentsAbout the Book
Writing a book is hard. Marketing it can be even harder.
Marketing a book in 2023 can seem like a full-time job, what with the crazy number of things authors seem to be expected to do: social media, blog tours, advertising, price promotions, mailing lists, giveaways, you name it.
But here’s a little secret: you don’t need to do all those things to successfully set your book on the path to success. What you need is a solid plan to find the one or two tactics that will work, and start to drive sales… in a minimum amount of time. And that’s exactly what you’ll find in this book.
Instead of drowning you in information or inundating you with hundreds of different tactics and strategies that eventually prove fruitless, this book will guide you through a step-by-step framework to find the ones that actually work for you and your book, so that you can start marketing more efficiently.
In particular, you’ll learn:
✔️ How to change your mindset and sell more books with less effort.;
✔️ How to write books that guarantee a lasting, profitable career;
✔️ How to get Amazon’s Kindle Store to market your book for you;
✔️ How to get thousands of readers into your mailing list before you even release the book;
✔️ How to propel your book to the top of the charts at launch; and
✔️ How to automate your marketing so that you can spend less time marketing and more time writing,
After helping over 150,000 authors crack the marketing code through a popular weekly newsletter, Reedsy’s Co-founder Ricardo Fayet is sharing everything he’s learned over the past few years in this beginner-friendly, jargon-free guide to book marketing.
Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/How-Market-Book-Overperform-Marketing-ebook/dp/B08TZJQ1FB
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Today’s author needs to be able to do all stages of the publishing process in order to run their author business, but one person cannot do it all. It can be overwhelming, even for the D.I.Y. author. (That’s me. 😉 ). I share my experience and knowledge about doing my marketing and promotions myself in my book, The D.I.Y. Author, which will be released on June 4th, 2024. But learning to run an author business doesn’t end when you publish a book, and although I just wrote a book about building and growing your author business, I still have much to learn on this never ending road to success. That’s why I took advantage of the free ebook by Reedsy‘s Ricardo Fayette, How to Market Your Book: Overperform in a Crowded Market. Fayette knows a lot more than I do on the subject of book marketing, so I refer my readers to his book in my book.
I don’t do paid advertising, and that is what a good portion of this book is about.
“But couldn’t I reach a larger audience with paid advertising?” Absolutely.
Someday, I hope to be able to expand into the paid advertising arena, so I read through those sections, and I must say, Ricardo Fayette explains things in such a way that even someone like me, who gets headaches when thinking analytics, can understand, and he is very thorough. He lays out the differences between Amazon Ads, Facebook Ads, and BookBub Ads, weighing the pros and cons of each. And man, did I learn a lot, particularly about BookBub Ads. He really gave me a lot to think about. Hopefully, I will be able to include what I’ve learned about paid advertising from this book in the revised edition of The D.I.Y. Author by putting it into practice at a future date.
Fayette also talks about the importance of a mailing list and how to set up a newsletter with a reader magnet, reminding me of another area where my efforts have been lacking. He compares several email servers and offers the basics of a good newsletter. I set out two years ago to find a new email server because I wasn’t happy with MailChimp. But things got busy and life happened, and my quest for an email server got laid to the side. I opted to stick with what I knew, not wanting to take the time to learn a new server system, let alone the time it takes to research them first. This book offers a list with some I wasn’t familiar with which are geared more toward authors. This peaked my curiosity, as it sounded like it might be just what I’m looking for. I haven’t sent out a newsletter in over six months, and my readers have probably forgotten me. This might be the motivation that I need to get a newsletter up and running, and keep it running.
He shares tips for working the Amazon system, as well as some of the other retailers, for those who publish wide. He even talks about selling direct from your website, and how to make each of these methods work for you. He covers keywords, backcover copy and book covers.
On the subject of book covers, I have to disagree with him as he insists you must outsource your book cover with an expensive professional cover designer. I do outsource many of my book covers because I’d rather put my time into my writing, but although I am a writer and not a book designer, I posess the design knowledge and most of the skills to create a good book cover. I designed the covers for my Women in the West Adventure Series and I’m quite happy with them. I wasn’t happy with the cover I did for The Rock Star & The Outlaw, so I outsourced it to someone who had more skill than I did, and changed the cover three months after publication. So, while I’m not saying you shouldn’t outsource your book covers, I don’t think that it is an absolute necessity. While Fayette is adament on this point, reminding us of it repeatedly throughout the book, I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree on this one.
This is one of the most comprehensive books on book marketing that I’ve come across, and one I will be referring back to many times in the future as I grow and expand my author business. A great value from a free book.
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About Author Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw. Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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Want exclusive content? Join Kaye Lynne Booth & WordCrafter Press Readers’ Group for WordCrafter Press book & event news, including the awesome releases of author Kaye Lynne Booth. She won’t flood your inbox, she NEVER sells her list, and you might get a freebie occasionally. Get a free digital copy of her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction, just for joining.
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Book Review: An Ear for Murder
Posted: May 17, 2024 Filed under: Book Review, Books, cozy mystery, Fiction, Mystery, Review | Tags: An Ear for Murder, Book Review, cozy mystery, Diane Weiner, Writing to be Read Leave a comment
About the Book
Oboist Sara Baron agrees to cat sit for a childhood friend but instead of being greeted by a meowing fluff ball, she walks into a ransacked house and stumbles over her friend’s dead body. Frantic, she runs next door and enlists the help of a mysterious stranger who knows more than he admits. His charm, not to mention his deep chestnut eyes, is balanced by his guardedness, unexplained absences, and seemingly nonexistent past. Is he helping her expose the murderer, or covering his tracks? Meanwhile, Sara battles a career threatening affliction, and helps keep the family music business afloat all while looking for instrumental evidence to put the murderer behind bars.
Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Sara-Baron-Tuned-Mystery-ebook/dp/B08716ZSSX/
My Review
An Ear for Murder, by Diane Weiner, is A Sara Baron Tuned in Mystery, which is to say the protagonist and ametuer slueth is a musician. This is a cute cozy in which the protagonist falls into the middle of a murder mystery and is driven to solve it. This one is slow paced as the clues are uncovered, but it contains plenty of climactic moments.
Sara Baron makes a visit to her hometown when an affliction threatens to end her career as an oboist. But the friend she is staying with is murdered, and Sara sets out to find out who did it, and why, throwing her into the killer’s sites. Who the killer is remains a mystery, and the list of suspects grows, as the tension rises as each strange occurance becomes more dangerous. Then there’s the mysterious next door neighbor guy whose strange behavior makes him suspect, even though she wants to believe he’s one of the good guys. If she’s wrong, it could mean her life.
An Ear for Music contains all the right notes to create a cozy mystery in the tune of murder. I give it four quills.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.
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Book Review: The Texian Prisoners
Posted: May 10, 2024 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Review, Western | Tags: Book Review, Historic Fiction, Loretta Miles Tollefson, The Texian Prisoners, Western, Writing to be Read Leave a comment
About the Book
They called themselves “Texians.”
In Fall 1841, a band of roughly 300 men straggled out of the Staked Plains into New Mexico. They had intended to claim everything east of the Rio Grande for Texas. Instead, they were captured and sent south to El Paso del Norte, then on to Mexico City. The largest group of prisoners, which included journalist George Wilkins Kendall, was escorted to El Paso by Captain Damasio Salazar. Five prisoners died on that trek. Kendall would later write a book describing the experience, a book which accused Salazar of food deprivation, mutilation, and murder, and fed the glowing coals that would become the Mexican-American War.
But what really happened on the way to El Paso? The Texian Prisoners tells the story through the eyes of Kendall’s friend George Van Ness, a lawyer burdened with the ability to see his enemy’s point of view, and asks us to consider the possibility that Kendall’s report was not unbiased.
A historically accurate retelling of Larry McMurtry’s Dead Man’s Walk, this fictional memoir will make you question everything you thought you knew about Texas, New Mexico, and the boundary between them.
Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Texian-Prisoners-Biographical-Novel-Mexico-ebook/dp/B0CQ9TYK9L/
My Review
I received a digital copy of The Texian Prisoners from author Loretta Miles Tollefson in exchange for an honest review. I am a fan of Tollefson’s historical western fiction and have reviewed several of her books:
I always learn much I did not know from Tolleffson’s well researched books, and The Texian Prisoners did not disappoint. I knew very little about this time period in Old New Mexico, which takes place prior to and was a precursor to the Mexican American war. It was a violent time and so many lost their lives in the struggle for independence, this story tells of the men who declared the independence of Texas, demanding recognition of both the United States and Mexico, and were subsequently captured by the Mexican militia and marched across the brutal landscape under harsh conditons to Mexico City to await the judgement of Santa Anna.
This story is well-crafted and well-written, making me feel the discomforts the Texian prisoners were subjected to as if I were marching along the trek with them. Tollefson has an uncanny ability to get into her historical character’s heads and bring it to the page. The story is told from the point-of-view of McCaferty, the only Spanish speaking prisoner, who was used as interpreter, and who was in a position to speak up for his fellow prisoners. Tollefson has done her homework, combing through diaries and documents to bring this true life journey to the page, offering the viewpoints of the prisoners as well as a peek into the the motivation behind the actions of the Mexican leaders. Such a journey would undoubtedly change the lives of those who endured it, prisoners and captors alike.
An enthralling story that will keep you reading to the end and may teach you a thing or two about this country’s history. I give The Texian Prisoners five quills.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.
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A Look at Poetry Reviews of the Past Year: Cashing Checks with Jim Morrison
Posted: April 27, 2024 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Collection, Poetry, Review Leave a comment
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A Look at Poetry Reviews of the Past Year: In the Shadow of Rainbows
Posted: April 20, 2024 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Collection, Poetry, Review | Tags: Book Review, In The Shadow of Rainbows, Poetry, Poetry Collection, Selma Martin, Writing to be Read Leave a commentIt celebration of National Poetry Month, I’m reblogging my poetry reviews from the past year on Saturdays throughout April in case you missed any of these noteworthy poetry collections.
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Book Review: River Bones
Posted: April 19, 2024 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Crime, Fiction, Mystery, Review, Suspense | Tags: Book Review, Crime Fiction, Mary Deal, mystery, River Bones, Suspense, Writing to be Read 10 CommentsAbout the Book
A serial killer is on the loose in Sacramento River Delta.
When Sara Mason returns to her hometown to start a new life, she learns that a murderer is terrorizing its residents. Despite battling difficult childhood memories, Sara is determined to make peace with her past.
But she soon learns that the elusive psychopath is now stalking her. Sara’s attempt to rebuild her life is hindered even more by the discovery of skeletal remains on her property. As the investigation focuses on several suspects, Sara discovers critical clues and bravely volunteers to be a decoy for the sheriff’s department.
Sara’s destiny has brought her back home, but will her decision lead her down a path lined with danger… and straight into the arms of a madman?
Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/River-Bones-Sara-Mason-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B076JDZJ8M/
My Review
The title and cover both drew me to this book, and I wasn’t disappointed. River Bones, by Mary Deal is a classic suspense thriller. This book carries a somber tone in setting and eerie feeling of mystery.
How many bones are hidden in the river’s depths? They are the bones of those who have been lost… and sometimes, they are found.
After many years away, the sale of the gaming software she developed sells and Sara returns to her hometown a wealthy woman. But there is a serial killer on the loose, which is unsetling to Sara but even moreso when dead bodies begin to turn up all around her. The human remains found on her property delays her restoration plans with police investigations, and it soon becomes clear that the killer is targeting Sara as his next victim.
Skillfully crafted and completely enthralling. I give River Bones five quills.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.
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Treasuring Poetry – Meet prolific poet, Ivor Steven, and a review #poetry #poetrycommunity #TreasuringPoetry
Posted: April 17, 2024 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Collection, Interview, Poetry, Review, Treasuring Poetry | Tags: Book Reveiw, Ivor Steven, Poetry, Robbie Cheadle, Treasuring Poetry, Until Eyes Hear Sound, Writing to be Read 59 Comments
My April Treasuring Poetry guest is talented and prolific poet, Ivor Steven. Please enjoy his thoughts about poetry and some of his favourite poems.
What is your favourite style of poetry to read?
Oh, there are so many styles of poetry that I like. In my personal library I have poetry books by Leonard Cohen, William B Yeats, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, John Keats, Henry Lawson, Banjo Paterson, and Rupi Kaur, and of course numerous other local poets. My selections are of a range of styles and very eclectic, however, my favourite poetry style is rhythmical freestyle poems.
What is your favourite poem in your favourite style to read?
Since I was a teenager, I have been an avid follower of Leonard Cohen’s writings, and he has had a huge influence on the way I draft my poems. One of my favourite poems of his is “Avalanche”.
“Avalanche“
Well, I stepped into an avalanche,
it covered up my soul;
when I am not this hunchback that you see,
I sleep beneath the golden hill.
You who wish to conquer pain,
you must learn, learn to serve me well.
You strike my side by accident
as you go down for your gold.
The cripple here that you clothe, and feed
is neither starved nor cold;
he does not ask for your company,
not at the centre, the centre of the world.
When I am on a pedestal,
you did not raise me there.
Your laws do not compel me
to kneel grotesque and bare.
I myself am the pedestal
for this ugly hump at which you stare.
You who wish to conquer pain,
you must learn what makes me kind;
the crumbs of love that you offer me,
they’re the crumbs I’ve left behind.
Your pain is no credential here,
it’s just the shadow, shadow of my wound.
I have begun to long for you,
I who have no greed;
I have begun to ask for you,
I who have no need.
You say you’ve gone away from me,
but I can feel you when you breathe.
Do not dress in those rags for me,
I know you are not poor;
you don’t love me quite so fiercely now
when you know that you are not sure,
it is your turn, beloved,
it is your flesh that I wear.
What is your favourite style of poetry to write? Why?
I must say I like writing Haiku, Tanka, musettes, and other forms of short poems. However, I only started writing poetry after I had suffered a semiserious stroke in 2000. During my rehab, the speech therapist encouraged me to write rhyming words to help regain my cognitive abilities. I developed a knack for rhyming words and from there my writing knowledge gradually expanded. With my restricted thought process, the rhythmical Freestyle Poems were an uncomplicated style for me to follow and I kept improving on my newfound journey into the world of poetry.
What is your favourite of your own poems in your favourite style?
Oh gosh, I have written nearly two thousand poems over the past twenty years, my favourite one is from my first book “Tullawalla”, I wrote the poem in Philadelphia while visiting my cousins in 2019. The trip to America was only two months after my 2nd and 3rd strokes, and the journey was truly a “dream come true”.
Dreams of The Heart
I cannot walk the continents
Like the intrepid Marco Polo
But my feet have felt the sands of time
Pass between my toes
I have not sailed the high seas
Like the courageous Christopher Columbus
But my body has bathed
In an ocean full of kind hearts I am yet to fly in space
Like the brave Neil Armstrong
But I have reached for the stars
And touched my soul’s dreams
How do you promote your poetry and poetry books?
I promote my poetry and books via my WordPress website, and social media sites: Instagram. Facebook. Thread, and a new website Medium. Also, I am an appointed writer for the online Coffee House Writers magazine (America), and they allow me to promote my Books on their members chat-site. I am a member the Geelong Writers Inc, who have Monthly social gatherings where I can sell my books. I frequent several local cafes, at which I am allowed to display and sell my books. I regularly attend local Arts Markets and I have had Book Stalls at nearby book festivals, the most recent being the prestigious Clunes Booktown Festival.
>> Clunes Booktown Festival – For the love of story
You can find out more about Ivor Steven on his blog here: https://ivorplumberpoet.press/about/
My review of Until Eyes Hear Sound
Available from Lulu.com here: https://www.lulu.com/search?contributor=Ivor+Steven&adult_audience_rating=00
and Jaymah Press here: https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/product-page/until-eyes-hear-sound
Until Eyes Hear Sound is a wonderful collection full of impactful poems about numerous important issues humanity faces as a collective, as well as the beauty of our natural world.
The book is divided up into ten chapters as follows: Little Creatures and Birds; Planet Earth, Nature and Existence; The New World? The Same Universe; Observations – “Until Eyes Hear Sound”; War! Without Peace?; Memories and Rhymes; Poetry in Slow Motion; Humour, Fantasy, Faeries, and Weird; and Short Poems, Haiku, Senryu, Tanka, and Others. Each section shares a smaller collection of poems that highlight the best and worst of that category. The poems are written in a mixture of freestyle and rhyming verse and are easy to read and vivid in their description.
The following are a few lines from some of the poems I related to the most in the collection:
“Raw rain is tumbling across town
Mother Nature’s roaring sound
Amplifies her tears slapping the ground
As her dark clouds wrinkle into a frown”
from She Knows
“Behind every mask there is a weathered face
Behind every face old lines survive in place
Behind every place memories live with grace”
from My World, My Thoughts
“arriving
via the cemetery gate
holding her flowers
hands quivering
heart quickens …
“leaving
via the cemetery path
renewing goodbyes
crying silently
breathing slowly”
from Arriving and Leaving, Visiting Her. This was my favourite poem in the collection.
A beautiful collection.
About Robbie Cheadle
Award-winning, bestselling author, Robbie Cheadle, has published fourteen children’s books and three poetry books. Her work also features in several poetry and short story anthologies.
Robbie also has two novels published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
The eleven Sir Chocolate children’s picture books, co-authored by Robbie and Michael Cheadle, are written in sweet, short rhymes which are easy for young children to follow and are illustrated with pictures of delicious cakes and cake decorations. Each book also includes simple recipes or biscuit art directions which children can make under adult supervision.
Robbie and Michael Cheadle have recently launched a new series of children’s books called Southern African Safari Adventures. The first book, Neema the Misfit Giraffe is now available from Amazon.
Robbie’s blog includes recipes, fondant and cake artwork, poetry, and book reviews. https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/
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A Review of my Poetry Collection, “Small Wonders”
Posted: April 14, 2024 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Collection, Poetry, Review, WordCrafter Press 5 Comments
Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/SmallWonders
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Wrapping Up the WordCrafter “Poetry Treasures 4” Book Blog Tour
Posted: April 13, 2024 Filed under: Anthology, Book Release, Book Review, Books, Giveaways, Poetry, Poetry Readings, Review, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press | Tags: Book Review, Giveaway, Poetry, Poetry Anthology, Poetry Reading, Poetry Treasures 4: In Touch with Nature, Robbie Cheadle, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours Leave a comment
It’s the last stop on the WordCrafter Poetry Treasures 4 Book Blog Tour, and we’re over at Carla Loves to Read with Carla’s review and a lovely reading by Robbie Cheadle of her poem, “Long Day (In the Bush)”. The perfect way to wrap up this wonderful tour and send off for this delightful anthology, Poetry Treasures 4: In Touch with Nature. Won’t you join us?
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A Look at Poetry Reviews from the Past Year: The Hedge Witch & The Musical Poet
Posted: April 13, 2024 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Poetry, Review | Tags: Book Review, M.J. Mallon, National Poetry Month, Poetry, The Hedge Witch & The Musical Poet, Writing to be Read 3 Comments
It celebration of National Poetry Month, I’m reblogging my poetry reviews from the past year on Saturdays throughout April in case you missed any of these noteworthy poetry collections.
Today’s review is The Hedge Witch & The Musical Poet, by M.J. Mallon
