Category: Book Marketing

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Announcing an A-Z and DIY Book Publicity Course — with Me!

Announcement

(Note: as of 15 January, the early interest form is closed. I expect to launch the course this week. If you are still interested in being part of the early interest group, however, email me and I’ll handle it.)

Hello again, friendly readers! I am pleased to announce that this winter I am launching a course on Udemy. It will be on DIY book publicity, which I often talk about, but it’s going to be a total package, an A-Z course on what I do for my clients, how I do it–and how you can do it, too. If you are interested in knowing when it launches, enter your info here. The people who tell me they are interested using this form will get first dibs and a discount code for the course if they join in the first month! Feel free to spread the word if you think you know someone else who might be interested. If you refer three or more people who enroll in the course, you’ll get something extra special just for you.

If you take the course you can look forward to knowing how to identify the best places to get publicity for your creative work, what to say when you contact them, and how to keep the whole thing organized. You’ll also get office hours where I’ll be available for Q&A, a message board just for fellow students in the course–and lots more. Sign up now to be among the first to know when it’s live, and get yourself that discount on tuition the process.

Goals and 2015 Wrap-Up

2015 was the year of nearly no blog posts for  me. While I don’t foresee ever being a particularly prolific blogger, I’d like to offer you more value this year.

See, the thing with my Book Marketing without BS brand is that if I have nothing to say, it seems silly to me to create a blog post to say nothing or to repeat myself. That said, I think I can do better than I have. I have retained some topic suggestions from the last time I asked people what was on their minds, but please let me know (in the comments or by email) what topics you’d like to see with regard to book publicity and marketing.

Those are my goals. What are yours? What do you look forward to this year? And don’t forget to tell me you’re interested in my course so you can reserve an earlybird discount code.

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Fall Workshops: First Lead-Up Exercise for Twitter

Hello again, everyone! I have two social media for authors workshops coming in September, one in Pickering and one in Brampton. In preparation I have exercises participants can work on over the summer. They will then bring the results with them to the workshop on the day they attend.

Since I am doing this in conjunction with BeNovel Marketing Services, the exercise is hosted on its site. Go take a look, and if you are in or have friends in the GTA, please share this with writers you think may be interested. Early-bird pricing has a few weeks to go and you won’t want to miss out on the hefty discount for getting in on it early!

Register here (scroll down, the registration is right on the page), and view the Twitter Challenge exercise here.

Coming soon: tips for editing comic book scripts.

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Urban Fantasy Twitter Chat, GenreLitChat #3

It’s that time again! Thursday, September 4th at 8 p.m. Eastern / 5 p.m. Pacific is the next #GenreLitChat, and this time it’s urban fantasy. You can participate in this chat by sending me questions ahead of time for me to ask the panel, or simply being on Twitter and following the hashtag. While this is a moderated discussion, you’ll be free to reply and interact as normal on Twitter.

The urban fantasy group consists of: 

Mia Marshall is the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award-winning author of the Elements urban fantasy series. Before she started writing about things that don’t exist in this version of reality, she worked as a high school teacher, script supervisor, story editor, legal secretary, and day care worker. She has lived all along the US west coast and throughout the UK, where she collected an unnecessary number of degrees in literature, education, and film. These days, she lives in a small house in the Sierra Nevadas, where she is surrounded by her feline overlords.


Nicholas Kaufmann is the Bram Stoker Award-, Thriller Award-, and Shirley Jackson Award-nominated author of Dying Is My Business, Die and Stay Dead, Chasing the Dragon, Hunt at World’s End, General Slocum’s Gold, and Still Life: Nine Stories. Over the years, he worked in publishing, owned his own bookstore, managed a video store, and was a development associate for a literary agent. He lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife and two ridiculous cats.

 Linda Poitevin is the author of dark urban fantasy (The Grigori Legacy from Ace/Roc Books) and contemporary romance (self-published). Linda lives near Ottawa, Canada’s capital, and in her other life is wife, mother, friend, gardener, coffee snob, freelance writer, and zookeeper of too many pets. When she isn’t writing, Linda can usually be found in her garden or walking her dog along the river or through the woods.

 Alexander Kosoris was born and raised in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He lived on residence in Toronto, Ontario while attending the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto between 2006 and 2010. While there, he discovered his love of writing, spending much of his free time writing short stories, one of which he expanded to arrive at his first novel, Lucifer. After graduating, Alexander has moved back to Thunder Bay, where he now lives, working as a pharmacist. Whenever he gets a moment of leisure, Alexander enjoys listening to and playing music, as well as riding his bicycle.

 Launched in 2009, All Things Urban Fantasy is the place where para is normal. Currently a group of five readers and bloggers, we’re dedicated to reviewing the latest books in the urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and speculative fiction genres. Participating in the chat will be Kate, who has been running ATUF for about a year now, and loves urban fantasy with a passion. 

You can use the TWUBS link or just follow the hashtag on Twitter. Also, please feel free to email me questions you would like me to ask the panelists. 

I look forward to seeing you at 8 p.m. Eastern / 5 p.m. Pacific on Thursday, September 4th!


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Service Highlight: Affordable, No-BS Book Marketing and Social Media Consultations

My most under-the-radar services are the consulting services, so I wanted to say a bit more about those, and to share some words from happy consulting clients, too!



How do consulting services help you?

  • Offload some of the work you don’t want to do
  • Get query letters written for you (or a critique for the ones you have)
  • Ease your stress with step-by-step plans for publicity campaigns
  • Ditch even more of that stress with social media plans and coaching tailored for your needs


You can probably afford it, too, because it starts for as little as $75. Email me for a no-charge discussion to see if working with me is right for you.

 Not sure whether this is for you? Here are some clients who’ve been pleased with my consulting services so far:

Jinx Strange, Freelance Writer, Author

“Beverly has become as intrinsic to my writing career as my laptop or my fingers. I wouldn’t take on a project without involving her, and as my work often leads me into uncharted waters, Beverly’s ability to think on her feet and innovate has made her indispensable.”

“This is, in a word, AMAZING. You’ve just made my stress and anxiety about all this publicity stuff come down a few notches — so my sanity thanks you too!”

Meghan Miller Brawley, Author, Indexer, Researcher

“Beverly was really helpful getting my social media plan in place. Her broad base of experience gives her great insight and was invaluable, and she was understanding and receptive of my needs.”

 I am also currently working on social media work with author Mia Marshall, author/editor Vanessa Ricci-Thode, and for AutoCrit, so if I do my job well, maybe there’s more praise to come.

Please send me an email now. We can talk about your needs for free, so you have nothing to lose. I look forward to learning about what you’re working on!

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My DetCon Schedule

Hi, all! I will be at NASFic DetCon 1 this weekend from Friday, July 18th through Sunday, July 20th. I have a couple of panels I am moderating as well as a kaffeeklatsch (kaffeeklatsch=consulting time for free if you play your cards right! ;))

North American Science Fiction Convention (DetCon) Schedule

Econ 101 of Self-Publishing, Nicolet A, Saturday 11 a.m.

I am the moderator, and I will be there with JF Garrard, Blake Hausladen, Patty Templeton, Christie Meierz, and Becca Price.

The media is filled with news about self-publishing, but to do it properly, there is a price to pay! This panel will touch on a series of topics and give an estimate of how much things can cost: 1) The difference between traditional and self-publishing, 2) Why an editor is important, 3) How to commission artwork, 4) What copyright is, 5) Marketing Ideas, and 6) The difference in creating e-books versus print books

Kaffeeklatsch, KaffeeKlatsch2, Saturday 1 p.m.

This one’s all me! Be sure to sign up for this one when you get to the con registration desk, as space is limited. You’ll be able to talk about your project’s marketing and publicity with me directly, and you’ll be able to hear about some of my own experiences, too. It will be fun!

Creators and Brand Identity, Mackinac West, Sunday 12:00 noon

I am also moderating this one, and I will be joined by John Scalzi, Sean Mead, Martin L. Shoemaker

Neil Gaiman. John Scalzi. Would they be mid-list authors in a world without the Internet? Can you be famous in 2014 only by writing or making art? How does a creator build a brand?

I hope to see you there. Please don’t hesitate to stop me if you see me and say hello. I will be happy to chat. I’ll also have information about AutoCrit, which is a company for which I do social media, so ask me about editing help, too!

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Self-Planning for Self-Promotion: A Book Marketing without B.S. Web Workshop

I am doing an in-depth online workshop on self-promotion for all authors and comic creators. This isn’t just for the self-published, either. If you’re published by any house, big or small, you know how much work falls to you for your own book marketing and publicity. In fact, it’s telling that my clients primarily fall in the small-to-medium publisher category, with the next largest being major publishing houses. (And yes, I have a few self-published/owner-created comics clients, too!)

Right now there are two dates: Thursday, March 27th at 7 p.m. Eastern Time and Sunday, April 13th at 1 p.m. Eastern Time (get those tickets here). I will do this again a few times a year as long as there is interest, so if you miss these, let me know what time is good for you and I will take that into consideration when I schedule the next one. (Also, if you can gather 6 or more people interested in the workshop, I’ll create another event at a time chosen by your group.)

Here is a tentative course outline:

  • Pre-Planning
    • Honestly determine your strengths and capabilities
    • Choose the right tools for you
    • CreateSpace and other print-on-demand vs. traditional printing vs. ebook-only
    • Decide whether to create a business entity or publish under your own name
  • First Steps
    • Plan and Outline
    • How far in advance to send review requests?
    • How far in advance to hire help if you are going to?
    • How to get blurbs?
    • Publicity: interviews, guest blogging
    • What about traditional media?
    • One-sheets for mailed books
    • Book trailers and other video
  • Details
    • How many and what type of targets?
    • Get your data right here!
    • Review copies: physical vs. electronic
    • Keep consistent, good records
    • What does return on investment mean in this context?
    • Social media: tips, tricks, and useful apps
  • Obstacles
    • Toughening up to criticism–or how to cope if you can’t
    • Connections and networking: more important than you think
    • Growing too fast: slow follower growth is GOOD
    • The importance of honest people
    • Self-publishing and industry respect
  • Q&A
This should all take between 90 minutes and two hours, depending on how many questions there are–and please do bring questions! Also, feel free to email me questions ahead of time if you don’t see them addressed in the outline and I’ll do my best to work them into the material.
Buy tickets here:
I look forward to meeting with you soon!
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Winners Announced!

Thanks once again to everyone who entered and who shared and tweeted. Your support is fantastic and I couldn’t do this without you. This has also been a great chance to promote my non-publicity campaign services, of which there are many you can see here. Some of my favourites are social media planning and coaching, and copy editing, and even though it’s not officially on the list, I enjoy critique as well. It’s likely to end up on the list at some point. So please contact me and ask about these other services. I can work with any budget, so don’t be shy.

Anyhow! here are the three winners:

Karina Sumner-Smith Site | Twitter
Jessica Meddows Site | Twitter
Teri Kline Twitter (and yes, I know the name on the Twitter account doesn’t match this. ;))

I have been in touch with all of them, and it is my hope that I can help them and also have some fun in the process.

I know many of you joined the email list to enter the contest. I hope you’ll stay, but if not, you should be able to unsubscribe easily from the next email you get, or if you’re in a hurry contact me and I’ll take care of it for you.

Coming tomorrow, a guest post about a local self-publishing in comics panel, and next week it’s back to regularly scheduled programming!

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Enter Here to Win Free Consulting or Critiques!

Subscribe (and confirm–check that spam email box!) to my email list and you will be entered to win two consulting or editorial hours. You can use the time toward:

  • Help creating your book or comic’s marketing plan
  • A complete flash fiction critique and copy edit
  • A full social media consultation and plan
  • A brief critique of a novella or a partial of a novel 
  • Website critique/planning assistance
  • Any other publishing- or marketing-related consultation time

Three winners will be selected at random from mailing list subscribers who have joined and confirmed by clicking the response link (remember it may go to a spam filter) by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, February 19th.

Not sure how to join the list? Subscribe right here.

Note that the prize will be delivered no earlier than March 15th, 2014. I will work out final details with the winners, whom I will announce on Thursday, February 20th.

I’ll take this opportunity to also remind you that I provide all of the above services at reasonable rates, so if you aren’t the winner, contact me and let me know what you need and we’ll put together a plan that fits your budget.

Good luck, and spread the word to anyone you think may be interested!

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Inspiration vs Newsjacking: Book Marketing without B.S. #6

Book Marketing without B.S. is a weekly publicity and marketing advice column for writers and other creators who prefer a realistic, clear, and no-nonsense approach. My goal is to help you cut through the bullshit with direct, understandable advice you won’t be embarrassed to follow. Send your questions to beverly@beverlybambury.com.

My client, writer Chris Irvin, did a blog post about the assassinated Mexican physician and politician Maria Santos Gorrostieta, which inspired his novella, Federales. He was concerned that the post might be interpreted as using a tragedy for his own marketing benefit. I advised that the post was just fine, and that the real problem were things such as the infamous Cairo tweet from Kenneth Cole. Sure, Kenneth Cole got a lot of attention; but, the majority of it was bad, and despite what you may have heard, bad publicity is not as good for your company as good publicity. 

It’s not hard to learn more about this concept of marketing tie-ins to tragedy or events. In general, this is often called “newsjacking”, a term coined by David Meerman Scott. Scott does not advocate the use of tragedy in this way; however, and even spoke out against marketers making light of Hurricane Sandy, which you can see in the comments of this controversial HubSpot blog post.

I admit I don’t see how newsjacking could ever be a positive term. I think appending “-jacking” onto something creates a negative connotation. So, what is good newsjacking, then? Why is it a thing? This blog post was a helpful run-down of positives and negatives to watch out for. Finally, if you’re interested, it may be useful to also read Danny Brown’s reply to the HubSpot post and its replies. .

Consensus is definitely on the side of staying empathetic, kind, ethical, and…. well… classy. Of course there still seem to be people who have no problem making light of tragedy with an eye to profit. I personally find things like that distasteful and certainly the person doing the newsjacking may create a negative association for the brand or individual in the eyes of many potential customers. It’s risky at best, and dangerous and cruel at worst.

So did Chris newsjack in a bad way with his post about Maria Santos Gorrostieta? No, not at all. For him–and for all artists–this served as inspiration to create a bigger story, to create art. This wasn’t a casual, off-the-cuff tweet intended to drive traffic to his web site. Indeed, I think painful or tragic incidents are often the inspiration for people to create, which is a healthy, humanist response. A callous marketing effort this was not, and so I feel comfortable saying that inspiration is not newsjacking. They’re totally different things, and respectful blog posts about one’s inspiration, such as what Chris wrote, is something you should feel completely free to do. If you’re ever worried about the tone, ask a trusted (and 100% honest) associate for his or her thoughts.

What do you think about newsjacking and using tragedy to inspire art? Is there a difference? What examples have you seen (of either) that have been particularly bad, or particularly good?

Keep those questions coming, and sign up to get my posts sent directly to your email by clicking here. Thank you once again for your continued support.

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GenreLitChat #1: Storify Transcript

The first #GenreLitChat this past Thursday went well. The three authors who were on the panel (John Mantooth, Heidi Ruby Miller, and Nathan Ballingrud,) had a good time, and as the moderator I found myself surprised by how quickly the hour went. I had several questions I wish I’d had time to ask. All in all, it’s not a bad thing to be left wanting more!

If you missed it, you can check out the Storify transcript below. You can also follow the #GenreLitChat hashtag via Twitter itself, or on Twubs.

Let me know what you think in the comments, and thank you–as always–for reading.