0801, 2016

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

Beverly Bambury/ January 8, 2016/ Announcements, Book Marketing, BookMarketingWithoutBS, Comic Marketing, DIY, Marketing, Self-Promotion, self-publishing, Service Highlight, Workshops/ 4 comments

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

1003, 2014

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

Beverly Bambury/ March 10, 2014/ Announcements, Book Marketing, BookMarketingWithoutBS, Comic Marketing, DIY, Public Relations, Publicity, Queries, Self-Promotion, self-publishing, Social Media, Traditional Media, Useful Stuff/ 0 comments

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

2202, 2014

Self Publishing Comics Panel Report: A Guest Post by Ricky Lima

Beverly Bambury/ February 22, 2014/ comic creators, comics, Conventions, DIY, Guest Post, Marketing, Self-Promotion, self-publishing/ 0 comments

This past January there was a comics self-publishing event at PAMA (a local art gallery and historical archive). On the panel were Sanya Anwar (Site | Twitter), Ricky Lima (Facebook | Twitter), Jason Loo (Site | Twitter), and David Bishop (Facebook | Twitter). I was unfortunately unable to make the event, so I asked Ricky to tell me about it in the form of the guest blog post you are about to read. I hope you enjoy it, and let me know if there are similar events in your city you might like to report on. Bishop, Loo, Anwar, Lima (L-R)Photo credit: Stadium Comics Peel Art Gallery, Museum, and Archive is hosting an exhibit dedicated to graphic story telling. The gallery has an awesome collection

2102, 2014

Winners Announced!

Beverly Bambury/ February 21, 2014/ Announcements, author services, Book Marketing, DIY, editing, Marketing, Publicity, Publishing, Self-Promotion, self-publishing, Useful Stuff, writers/ 0 comments

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 | TwitterJessica Meddows Site | TwitterTeri Kline Twitter (and yes, I know the name on

1702, 2014

Enter Here to Win Free Consulting or Critiques!

Beverly Bambury/ February 17, 2014/ Announcements, author services, Book Marketing, DIY, editing, Marketing, Publicity, Publishing, Self-Promotion, self-publishing, Useful Stuff, writers/ 0 comments

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

0502, 2014

A Promise of Better Craft in Self-Publishing (or Slow the Eff Down): Book Marketing without B.S. #10

Beverly Bambury/ February 5, 2014/ BookMarketingWithoutBS, Budget, cover art, DIY, editing, Publishing, self-publishing, Useful Stuff/ 0 comments

The other day Chuck Wendig shared a blog post he wrote entitled “Slushy Glut Slog: Why the Self-Publishing Shit Volcano Is a Problem“. You should read it, assuming that some “shit” and “fuck” aren’t going to be offensive to your delicate sensibilities, and particularly if you’re thinking about taking the self-publishing path or starting a small publisher. It’s already up to almost 200 comments, including a long one from Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords. Stick with reading it even though it’s long and it may piss you off. It’s not an anti-self-pub screed; but, a way toward a solution that elevates independent writers–and to be perfectly blunt–a number of small publishers, too. Anyway, I won’t rehash Chuck. He breaks it down so well that there’s no point in

2312, 2013

Amazon Exclusivity and KDP Select: Book Marketing without B.S. #7

Beverly Bambury/ December 23, 2013/ author services, BookMarketingWithoutBS, Budget, comic creators, DIY, Publishing, self-publishing, Useful Stuff, writers/ 3 comments

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. Once I began working independently of a publisher, I ran into an issue that I hadn’t dealt with before: exclusivity with Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Select program. From a publicity perspective I found it frustrating, as I have contacts affiliated with other book-buying outlets and I am unable to call on them in exclusivity situations. Why would they help with a book they can’t sell, after all? Still, I know it is more complicated

2811, 2013

My SFContario 4 Schedule, Including Free, Open to the Public Workshop

Beverly Bambury/ November 28, 2013/ Book Marketing, Conventions, DIY, Marketing, Publicity, Self-Promotion, self-publishing/ 0 comments

Book Marketing without B.S. is taking a week off for U.S. Thanksgiving. Check back next week for #5. In the meantime, I will be at SFContario 4 this weekend (as will my husband. As you can see below, I am not the only Bambury out there!). Saturday is a busy day of panels for me, and Sunday I am running a free, open to the public workshop that will help you create a marketing and publicity plan for your creative work. Take a look, and if you see me, please say hello! I promise I don’t bite. Talk a lot, maybe, but no biting. Finally, don’t forget to check out my recent guest post by Effie Seiberg, all about doing conventions on the cheap.

2211, 2013

How Far in Advance to Hire a Publicist and a Book Marketing Plan Timeline: Book Marketing without B.S. #4

Beverly Bambury/ November 22, 2013/ Author Readings, Blog Tour, Book Marketing, BookMarketingWithoutBS, Publicity, Publishing, Queries, reviews, Scheduling, Self-Promotion, self-publishing, Timing, Traditional Media, Useful Stuff/ 0 comments

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. Today brings another pair of related questions. The first is “How long before my book comes out should I hire a publicist?” It depends to a certain degree what you’re looking for and on how in-demand the publicist is. My business is relatively young, so six months is plenty of lead time for me, and I can absolutely work with much less if required. I’ve even done emergency publicity! Ideally, for prose novels, pre-work work

2505, 2013

The Real Costs of Self-Publishing a Book

Beverly Bambury/ May 25, 2013/ cover art, editing, Publicity, self-publishing/ 3 comments

If you missed PBS Mediashift’s piece on the costs of professional quality self-publishing, it’s a real eye-opener. Read it here: http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2013/05/the-real-costs-of-self-publishing-book. Go on. I’ll wait. So what did you think? I am sure the high end prices were a little frightening, but notice that there are lower end prices, too. If you think you can’t afford an editor, don’t go without. Consider paying a student a lower rate. It allows him or her to get experience, and at the same time you get affordable editing assistance. You have to understand in this case that you are not getting a highly experienced editor, though, so keep expectations appropriate for what you’re paying for. The same goes for cover art and marketing services. Don’t go without these