Sunday interview: Bernardine Kennedy

Do anything and everything with a smile, says UK women’s fiction author Bernardine Kennedy. She is published by Headline and has her own website and blog.
1. What kinds of marketing have you done as an author?
I’ve done book signings, stock signings, local press interviews as well as other mags where I might fit their [...]

Public speaking nerves

Many authors are nervous about public speaking, not least because they may have never done it before. I was quite lucky as I went through the pain of learning how to speak in public when I was at school. I attended a girl’s school up to the age of 16, but the debating society was [...]

Pack is back

Scott Pack is back blogging and reveals what was behind his sudden disappearance.
If you have not come across Scott Pack, you obviously don’t follow the UK book trade, and if you’re a UK author serious about having a career in this trade, you probably should do some reading about what’s going on in the newspapers, [...]

Tuesday tips 14

Got a tip?
Email me.
Planning. Don’t plan one author gig (today: workshop to creative writing students) after another (tomorrow: talk to writers’ circle about romantic fiction), both of which need preparation time, with a full day of work sandwiched in between, and combine with the delusion that you’ll have time to write up some Tuesday tips [...]

Sunday interview: Roger Morris

Be realistic in your expectations, says UK crime author Roger Morris whose first novel, Taking Comfort, was published by Macmillan New Writing last year. Roger Morris has a marketing background and used his experience to promote his own book. (Like me!) He blogs at Roger’s Plog.
1. What marketing did Macmillan do?
Aside from sending out a [...]

Author gigs are an investment

Last night at a local business ladies evening, which I was attending as Kate Allan, director of Red Wave Communications, I met a lady who said to me straight off, “Oh, I know you! You write books! Yes, you gave that talk at the Town Hall.” I did, and it was about a year ago, [...]

Self-publishing, a publicist’s perspective

I often get calls enquiring about my publicity services from self-published authors.
Usually, these calls come too late. The author has gone down the self-publishing route, produced a book, tried to market it, and has reached the point where they are despairing what to do about the hundreds (or sometimes thousands) of copies sitting unsold in [...]

Tuesday tips 13

Practical advice for book marketers.
Got a tip? Email me.
Planning: If you’ve not done so yet put together a calender for your 2007 marketing activity. And don’t forget to exploit seasonal opportunities. Write commercial fiction? Perhaps you can promote your book as a summer/holiday read? Write romance? Then consider doing something to tie in [...]

Sunday interview: Daisy Dexter Dobbs

Pinpoint your unique strengths and talents and make the most of them, says U.S. romance writer Daisy Dexter Dobbs. She’s used her talent for humor and art to help market herself as an author. Daisy Dexter Dobbs has her own blog here.
1. What marketing have your publishers done?
All books are sent to reviewers. Most [...]

What goes into a book press release

As I have just been writing a couple of book press releases, it seems like a good time to share with you what every book press release should contain IMHO:
1. Book title
2. Key details: i.e. author, price, publication date, publication format and ISBN
3. Excerpts from reviews or endorsements garnered to date
4. A hook – stating [...]