Marketing A Novel: Using Facebook To Sell Your Book

These days authors have to depend more and more on using social media to sell their books. If, like me, you're an independent author, it's crucial... though writers who've had their books published by traditional means also have to reach out to readers. It's especially important if you're only selling your novel as an e-book. Because you can't sell in-person and do readings in bookstores, using sites like Facebook or Twitter is the next best thing.

For F#@! BOMB's release, I've been experimenting with Facebook. We had great success launching LOVE NOTES with a Facebook party, so I hosted aa FB event for F#@! BOMB. I also, of course, posted my book's link on my personal and author pages, and alerted my friends and contacts of its existence. So far, I've sold quite a few through FB, though I'm trying to expand my readership and sales.

I've tried my luck at using Facebook's ad campaigns... and I can't say it's worked too well for me. While most features on FB are still free (and will hopefully stay that way), you can buy ad space to promote a post or particular page. FB has you pay a certain amount of money -- they encourage anything from $5 on -- and the more you pay, the more people you reach. Generally your post/page is boosted for a day or so, or until the money runs out (which happens rather quickly). You can customize your ads to target particular people, which further expands your potential fan base.

FB does what it promises as my pages and posts HAVE gotten many views. I've gotten dozens of "likes" on my author and jewelry designer pages, and have a few new followers. However, while the views are coming in, it doesn't seem like people really click the actual links. People tend to "like" what's right in front of them, whether it's a photo of my jewelry or a blurb about my books, but most haven't bothered to actually head to my Etsy stores or to my Amazon pages. They simply like the post and move on. Sometimes I wonder if they even know what they're liking.

From this experience I've found that it's better to target people who are specifically looking for a product. The FB release parties worked well because book lovers were eager to meet the authors and learn about the novels. They weren't just blindly liking links. I think many of us -- myself included - kind of go through FB and click, click, click, like, like, like whatever pops up... but it takes more effort to actually stop and change the page to view whatever is being sold.

As an online vendor, I'm a big fan of Facebook because it has gotten me book and jewelry sales. But buying ads is not the way to go, at least for me.

Please read and review F#@! BOMB, REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD and LOVE NOTES, all available on Amazon.

Marketing An E-Book: A Successful Facebook Release Party!

My F#@! BOMB Facebook Release Party was tonight and I'm happy with the results! While I didn't have a huge number of people stop by, I still had enough readers to keep things interesting. A couple stayed for the entire two hours, which I truly appreciate. A few of my close friends, plus my husband, made guest appearances and I think the readers enjoyed "meeting" them.

I always enjoy meeting fellow book lovers and we had some interesting discussions. Since my novel's narrator is an overweight woman with food issues, we talked about how food has so many associations for different people -- many of them having nothing to do with an item's taste. We also talked about portrayals of plus-size and LGBT characters, and shared the names of our favorite authors. I was glad to see so many Stephen King fans in the house! He's one of my favorites, not only because I'm a long-time horror fan, but because he writes brilliant, complex characters. His stuff is scary as hell, too, and that's always fun to read.

Now that the party is over I have to plan my next steps in publicizing the book. I've already signed up for another blog tour and am getting a "Book Of The Day" post with Kindle Book Review. I'd like to do more social media events, though. I really like interacting with my readers and in an age where social media has become so important, I think they enjoy chatting with accessible authors. I reached out a bit with REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD, but my experience with LOVE NOTES has taught me that I need to do even more. I'm not entirely sure what yet, but will read up on ideas.

Meantime, be sure to read and review F#@! BOMB, now on sale on Amazon. Also check out LOVE NOTES and REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.

My New Novel: Meet The Characters!

As we get closer to F#@! BOMB's release date, I've been posting little teasers about the book on the page for my upcoming Facebook Book Release Party. Each day, I've been sharing a "Meet The Characters!" blurb, where I introduce readers to the various personalities in the novel. This way, they'll know who everyone is when they read my book.

I'm trying not to give too much away -- just enough information to get people excited and to whet their appetites for my story. Hopefully, many readers of this blog will join the online party on March 30, 6-8 p.m. ET, but if you can't make it, here are a few of the "Meet The..." posts which I've shared so far. I'll include more in future posts! Meantime, be sure to check out F#@! BOMB, as well as LOVE NOTES and REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD, all on Amazon.

MEET THE CHARACTERS!

NAME: Sadie Abramowitz

ROLE IN BOOK: Narrator, female protagonist

AGE: 18 going on 19

OCCUPATION: College freshman majoring in English; plans to be a journalist and writes for the school paper, The Falcon.

TALENTS: Writing, singing, cooking

FLAWS: Eats to calm her emotions, has a bad habit of pushing people away

ABOUT SADIE: Sadie is smart, sassy, hard-working... and very overweight. Her size has caused her to withdraw from her peers and when we first meet her, she's a loner whose best friend is her mom. At college, Sadie befriends Griffin -- a track star, who is also one of her former high school bullies -- and he encourages her to get in shape so she can walk a marathon. As she trains for the event, she not only improves her health, but learns to come out of her shell, make friends and trust people.

MEET THE CHARACTERS!

NAME: Griffin Greenberg

ROLE IN BOOK: Sadie's best friend, coach and lead male protagonist

AGE: 18 going on 19

OCCUPATION: College freshman majoring in Bio; track star, marathoner and Olympic hopeful

TALENTS: Running, coaching, teaching younger kids

FLAWS: Has a quick temper, often acts without thinking, was a bully in high school

ABOUT GRIFFIN: Handsome, charismatic Griffin has always been a star. Being the oldest of four children and a talented runner, people have always looked up to him. Family is very important to him, as well as being Jewish. His father has his son's whole life planned and expects Griffin to run in the Olympics and then become a doctor. However, Griff has keeping a secret: he's gay. He's very reluctant to come out because he's afraid of how the reveal will impact his charmed life. Once he befriends Sadie, he slowly comes to terms with his sexuality and what it means to actually "be himself."

MEET THE CHARACTERS!

NAME: Veronica Miller

ROLE IN BOOK: Sadie's eccentric roommate

AGE: 18-19

OCCUPATION: College freshman majoring in art

TALENTS: Painter and sculptor; her specialty is creating 3-D pieces using "found objects," such as hair, dog poop or chewed-up gum. Is also extremely perceptive and has a talent for seeing through people's b.s.

FLAWS: Sometimes grunts instead of speaks, yells when frustrated, is extremely opinionated, swears like a sailor, is honest to the point where it's hurtful.

ABOUT VERONICA: Having been beaten down by Life, Veronica takes no sh-t from anyone. She favors a classic punk style with piercings and multicolored hair and is basically the exact opposite of Sadie. At first, Sadie thinks her roomie is psychotic, but Veronica often tells her some painful truths when Sadie most needs to hear it. *Side note* -- I originally meant for Veronica to be a minor character who'd provide some comic relief, but she ended up becoming rather integral to the story. She's also one of my favorite characters I've written so far!

The F#@! BOMB Book Release Facebook Party!

Only a couple more weeks before F#@! BOMB is officially released! You can still pre-order your copy on Amazon.

To celebrate my second novel's debut, I'm hosting a Facebook party on March 30, 6-8 p.m. ET. Anyone is welcome to join!

I participated in two of these parties for the LOVE NOTES anthology and they both went very well. It gave me the chance to meet and interact with readers, and we had a lot of fun. Since I've only released my novels as e-books, I haven't had the opportunity to do in-person book signings/readings, so this is the virtual equivalent.

At my upcoming party, I'll be giving away several prizes to some lucky winners, including my handmade jewelry, an Amazon gift card and free copy of my book. It will also be a chance to hang out, meet some new people and have fun.

So please join me for the FB event! And make sure to check out F#@! BOMB, LOVE NOTES and REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD!

LOVE NOTES Romance Novel Anthology: Facebook Party!

LOVE NOTES debuted on Amazon this past Monday! So far, things are going well. We're having steady sales online and we've gotten good feedback from readers. I've always been proud of REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD and am pleased that it's getting new life.

To celebrate the anthology's release, we had a Facebook party. Each author took an hour where we chatted with fans and gave away some prizes. I really enjoyed interacting with the readers, who were very enthusiastic and supportive. We had fun discussions about music, rock stars and dating. I also shared a few excerpts from BAND GEEK and gained some new readers.

A couple of people asked if I'd ever consider writing a supernatural novel. One woman in particular requested that I write something about vampires or fallen angels. I love vampire stories, but I don't see myself writing one in the near future. I enjoy writing realistic fiction and there are already many great supernatural series available. If I do a supernatural book, it would have to be something way out of the box... and so far, I haven't come up with a storyline good enough to put on paper. Hopefully, these readers will still enjoy my more realistic take on the world.

Because this event went so well, we are hosting another Facebook party: The LOVE NOTES Valentine's Bash. This one is on Saturday, February 14, 12-4 ET, so you can check in before enjoying your V-day plans. This time, we'll be focusing on the romance portion of our books. Again, we'll be sharing excerpts, chatting with readers and will be giving away prizes, so join us for some fun!

OK, So I Apparently Suck At Using Twitter...

In an attempt to advertise BAND GEEK, I've set up a nice online author "platform." I have this blog, a Facebook page, a Goodreads page ... and a Twitter account. I feel like I do pretty well with most of these outlets; I frequently update this blog, share posts on FB, have joined several groups and rate books on Goodreads.

But what I'm not so great at using is Twitter.

I seem to lose about as many followers as I gain, and I guess I can't blame them. Honestly, I don't post on Twitter that often, other than to advertise my book or my jewelry sites -- or to share blog posts. It's really because I don't have that much to say.

If I'm going to talk about writing, it's going to be in depth in this blog where I can really express my thoughts -- not in 140 characters. Sometimes I'll bang out a tweet, "Reading such-and-such right now and liking it" or will comment on a TV show, but I just don't have that many quick-bite-type thoughts! Twitter goes by so quickly that I find it impossible to keep up with and reply to everyone; I'd much rather use the time to write.

I'm also really bad at following back people who follow me. It's not because I don't like them; it's because I don't know them. On Facebook, I find that it's a much more personal space. When I'm engaging with friends or followers there, it's a bit slower; I can actually take the time to read posts without the feed unfolding at rapid speed in front of my eyes. Also, on FB you can say a little more. I guess I just like words, being a writer and all.

I think I also like FB's setup better. On FB, you can simply click "like" on a post and let that person know that their post excited or amused you. On Twitter, you can retweet or reply -- but it's not quite the same. It just isn't as easy for me to go through.

I'll continue to use Twitter because I do feel as if it can be a useful advertising tool and a way for authors to get their name out. It HAS helped me sell copies of my book. I guess I just don't get it. I'd love to be able to get to know every person whom I meet online, but I have two jobs and a large network of people whom I regularly see in person. I do need that time for work and family.

I am trying to become a better tweeter and am attempting to add some more insightful posts. But I think it's going to take me a while to become the perfect Twitter user.

Meantime, please read and review my novel REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.

Publishing On Kindle: Fears And Frustrations

There's an episode of Sex & The City when Samantha takes on the job as publicist to her future boyfriend, Smith, and she assures her actor beau of the following when it comes to getting recognition (paraphrased): "First come the gays, then the girls, then everyone else." This is what I'm sensing -- and hoping -- will happen with my book, as I try to get my name out there as an author. Though don't expect me to hang a nude ad of myself in the middle of Times Square as Sam did for Smith. Trust me, this will just scare everyone...

I am seeing the start of this scenario playing out, which leaves me hopeful. For me, it was first friends and family members who downloaded my book, as well as former high school classmates. Now I'm starting to get a bit of positive feedback from teens. From there, I'd like the word to spread and for this to become the type of YA book that appeals to everyone from teens to adults. I just have to wait and be patient... and it's no secret that I have a difficult time doing that.

Meantime, I'm working my butt off as I try to "sell myself." To those of you who spend all day tweeting and social networking, I don't know how you do this. Frankly, it's exhausting. I feel like I have to tweet and send Facebook messages constantly to keep the momentum going -- and before I know it, hours have passed. I actually got one of my Twitter accounts shut down for tweeting too much. Can you believe that? Oh well, live and learn. I don't mind doing the work, though, if it sells my books and lets people know my name.

There are days when I get very frustrated. Yesterday was one of those days where I was having doubts about both my jewelry and writing ventures. But I then forced myself to put my work away for a while (it was Saturday, after all) and went out for dinner with Jon and some friends. Some good German food and my friends' happy baby cheered me up and I was in a great mood by the time we returned home that evening -- and then I received positive e-mails from a fan of my book and a fan of my jewelry. This fired me up and the doubts began to fade.

That's the one downfall of having an artistic career, be it writing, painting, singing or doing anything else that's subjective to people's tastes. If you want to actually make money from doing it, you depend on others liking your work... and at times, that can be trying. I have a thicker skin than I did when I started out, but I'm not wearing armor, either. It still hurts when someone doesn't like my work or when I don't feel that it's getting enough notice.

This is why I have to remind myself that ultimately I'm doing this because it makes ME happy -- and that it's okay for me to sometimes take a break and enjoy other aspects of my life.

To read and review my book, check out REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.

Selling A Book On Kindle: What's Working For Me So Far

It's been less than a month since my ebook BAND GEEK became available for purchase on Kindle, but I'm gradually learning what works -- and what doesn't -- when it comes to making sales. I haven't been selling a ton of books, but I've been happy with my results so far. I figure that as my name gets out there and I get better at marketing myself, I'll make more sales. But here's what I've learned so far...

Twitter is way more useful than I'd previously thought. I'm not a huge fan of Twitter. Keeping up with everyone's tweets is exhausting and I only have so many hours in the day. But it HAS helped with sales. Every time I tweet about my book, at least one person buys a copy. Facebook has helped, as well, but mainly as a way to get friends of friends and old classmates to buy. Not bad for a skeptic!

Reviews are an absolute necessity. I now have five reviews on Amazon and a few on Goodreads... and my sales have gone up. At first, I sold a lot of copies because friends and family members were getting my book, but I'm past that point. Now it's strangers buying BAND GEEK. I'd still like to get more reviews, but I'm being patient. I'm thinking of signing up for an all-review blog tour, where I can get some professional reviews. Seems like a good idea.

Blogging is a great way to get fans and readers. I'm sure that this blog has gotten me some sales, as well. The trick is to blog often and keep it interesting. I'm trying to do that! I like to think of this blog as my book's "companion." If people like my writing here, they'll want to check out my book. Make sure to post your blog's entries on Twitter, Facebook, etc.

Goodreads is a great resource and a great way to connect with potential fans and readers. I'm not the best at social networking, but I try to at least rate books and connect a little with my Goodreads friends. I was pleasantly surprised to see how many people have BAND GEEK marked off as "plan to read." This is a site for avid readers so take advantage of that.

THE JURY IS STILL OUT ON THESE THINGS...

I signed up for publicity and advertising campaigns with several sites. One forgot to post my book and ended up giving me two bonus days. We'll see how it goes. With another, I signed up for a three-month publicity blitz. My page is up, but so far, it hasn't seemed to improve sales. Maybe that will take time. My Virtual Book Tour is happening right now. I can't judge that yet because I've only been featured on two blogs to date, but I really enjoyed writing guest blog posts -- so either way, I'm happy I signed up for it!

KDP Select Free Promotion -- I tried this once and sold hundreds of books. It definitely boosted my ranking and made more people aware of my book. But it hasn't brought too many reviews, at least not yet. I know that I need to be patient. I read very quickly and it's not fair to expect that of everyone else. I'll definitely try another promotion to see how that goes. The trick is to plan for it ahead of time and promote it like crazy.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK (AT LEAST FOR ME)

There are several "How To Get Rick On Kindle"-type books out there -- and I've found that they haven't been useful. One claimed that you don't need to social network and suggested some shady practices to get sales. I tried one of the less-offensive practices -- writing a review of another book and linking to mine ... and Amazon didn't like this. It removed my review soon after. Plus, I felt kind of icky doing that. For me, social networking HAS worked and I'm confident that my sales will pick up speed in time. The problem with books like this is that everyone's experiences are different. Marketing for a young adult book is much different than marketing, say, erotica. There are basic things that everyone can do to boost sales, but it's not one size fits all.

THE BIG PICTURE

Overall, marketing BAND GEEK is proving to be a full-time job. It is A LOT of work and I ain't getting' rich. One of my writer friends thought that Amazon does the marketing work for you and was shocked when I explained how much I'm doing on my own. But I am selling books and love that people are reading my work. That's ultimately what I wanr -- to have my writing seen and for readers to hopefully enjoy it! If I have to tweet my brains out to get that, so be it.

Please read and review REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.

High School Reunion

This year marked my 20th high school reunion... which means, among other things, that I'm old. But while I didn't actually attend my reunion in person, I have reconnected with many high school friends on Facebook.

They've been very, very supportive of my writing and several have purchased my novel. However, their response so far has been pretty funny because everyone is asking, "Will I recognize any characters? Am I a character in it?" One friend, Greg -- who was in almost all of my classes and was a fellow band geek -- is currently reading it and had a lot of questions about my characters' origins. I sent him a long list of "Easter eggs," a.k.a., little funny in-joke type things that are hidden throughout the book.

It's a little surreal having this book read by people whom I grew up with. Greg knew me very well in high school and I'm sure is comparing Melinda to me as he goes through the story. The books means something to me because many parts are very personal and I'm sure he recognizes this more than the average reader would, just because he was there at the time. It's nerve-wracking, too, because the opinions of people I know mean more to me than a stranger's. I worry about my writing all the time, and whether it's actually good. I put a lot of sweat and tears into the book and just hope that people like it -- especially those who in some way inspired me.

Meanwhile, the husband of my childhood friend, Dina, is also reading it right now. I find it amusing that the two people I know who are actively reading my work are married men with kids. Not exactly my target demographic! But hey, if they enjoy it, great! Maybe I'll find a new audience.

Most of the time I feel like my age -- 38 -- but when I'm chatting with high school pals, it takes me back and I'm suddenly 18 again. Facebook is a lot of fun, but it's weird, too, because you get instant nostalgia. In the past, people would see their high school classmates maybe once every 5 or 10 years for a reunion, but now you can have a virtual reunion almost every day. Still, I guess it's good to be young at heart ... and perhaps being in a teenage mindset will help me with my writing!

Please check out my young adult book REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.