It seems the in thing right now is to have a custom twitter background. This is a great idea for authors and businesses.

But I urge everyone to be careful when designing their background. It’s easy to design what you think is a great twitter background and have it be partially visible to a majority of your followers.

Why? Screen size and resolution. If you design your background wrong, it will be useless to some of your users.

I recently began following Donna Amos. And when I went to her page I noticed her background was squished. I had my husband bring it up on his monitor to see how it looked there.

His monitor:

My monitor:

And here’s what it looks like at 800 x 600.

With that in mind, I set about creating a new background for my twitter page:

And the Pixelware Design twitter page:

You’ll notice that I’ve kept the image tall and skinny. Then I set the background of the twitter page to the same color as the background of my “background image”.

My images are about 126 wide x 524 pixels tall.

You can add a background and update your color scheme in the settings area of your Twitter account.

Good luck!

PS. Donna Amos always has great advice for entrepreneurs. You should follow her.

Every so often the topic of business cards for authors is brought up on one of the loops I’m on or one of the blogs I read.

• Should an author have one?
• What should they put on it?
• Should they have a different one for each book?

I’ve written about business cards for authors in the past but I thought I’d go into a bit more detail. Hopefully this article will address all of those questions (and more) and you’re in luck because I’ve created a few examples for you to drool over, I mean, look at. I hope you’ll forgive me that they’re based on my name and put together rather quickly.

First things first.

Does an author need a business card?

I think all professionals should have a business card and this includes authors. This simple little slip of paper is YOU…on paper. It gives you a way to get your name into the hands, literally, of those who can boost your career.

Remember, always be ready to network. And always be ready to hand out a business card to that new author, editor or agent you just met. She may be just the person you need to know to get another book deal.

Who is your target audience?

In other words, who do you plan on giving a business card to? An editor? Agents? Other industry professionals? How about other authors? Will you give them out to everyone you meet at a conference? Or only a select few? Will you have bookmarks printed as well, or will your business card be given to readers too?

The answers to these questions will determine what information you want to put on the card and what information you want to leave off.

What should you put on your business card?

First of all, don’t worry about listing your books. A business card is just that, a business card. It’s not a bookmark, postcard or sales sheet. You’re not trying to sell your books. You’re trying to sell yourself.

So put your name. An email address. A website address. Maybe even a blog address if it’s popular and updated frequently. If you have a certain brand you’re going for, say dark and edgy because you write paranormal romance, your business card should match this “look and feel.” You should probably include the fact that you’re an author. Romance author is okay too. Paranormal romance author will work as well. Or you could say Silhouette Nocture Author or HQN Author, if you only write for one line/imprint and are not looking to branch out in the near future.

But be careful about pinning yourself into too fine a hole. I know an author who had calendars printed on the back of her business cards; a fabulous idea since business cards are sized perfectly to fit in a wallet. But she didn’t go to any conferences that year and so she didn’t hand out many cards. Not to readers. Not to editors or agents either. So she pretty much wasted her money because who wants a calendar from three years ago?

Do you have a tagline? Include that. If you’re the author of a popular series, you might mention that as well. But again, listing your backlist isn’t the best idea. Save that for a bookmark (you’ll have more space anyway.)

Consider leaving the back of your card blank. You never know when you’ll need to write something down and give it to someone.

You might consider putting a PO Box address on there. And depending on your target audience, a phone number. But keep privacy (and that target audience) in mind.

How many cards should you have printed?

Well, how many industry folks do you meet each year? Do you go to two or three conferences? Do you go to a lot of writers meetings? Do you think you’d hand out five cards or 505 cards?

This is entirely up to you. But in my opinion, it’s better to buy fewer cards and reorder more often for the simple reason that a) you don’t want to print 1,000 cards and then hand out fifteen, move to a new state, decide to switch from paranormal romance to light hearted romantic comedies and then have to reorder and b) there are companies now that will print 25 cards at a time. And that’s perfect for newer authors.

What if I have a writing partner?

Consider dividing the card down the middle and putting a name on each side with the relevant contact information. If you write under one pen name, put that at the top, along with a singular web address if you have one.

front

back

You could also print on the front and the back of the card, depending on how you and your writing partner work together. But the same rules apply for what to put on the card. Or consider one of the following as your card. Each mentions being a co-author. This one is more personalized than the option above but again, you could include your “joint” website address.

You might also consider a small notation such as an * or perhaps highlighting your name a bit vs. your co-authors name. Then get two sets of cards. One where you’re highlighted and one where your partner is highlighted. That way when you give out your card the recipient will remember which author they spoke to. If all else fails, circle your name with a pen and then hand it over.

Another option for co-authors is to include a photo. This may seem a little “real estate agent” but it’ll help put a face with the name…should that be important to you.

What if you write two different subgenres?

If you write two subgenres and your readers are aware of this, consider a front/back combo card that is similar in look and feel but is tailored to your two audiences.

Can I design and print them myself?

Unless you own a printing shop, I’d leave the printing to professionals. It’s so cheap these days that you’d spend more to buy a kit at the office supply store (not to mention ink!) than you would on the printing and shipping of the cards. Plus, it just doesn’t look professional to print the cards at home. I did it ages ago and I still cringe every time I find one of those cards laying around. I look at it now and wonder what I was thinking. Even though the design was good and the printing clear, the perforated edges just scream unprofessional.

And you want to appear professional. While you may give a great first impression, you want your business card to give a great second impression any time someone looks at it.

As for design, if you have a background in art or design, I say go for it. Otherwise, find a designer who can do it for you, and don’t be worried about paying an arm and a leg. There are very affordable designers out there who will do a great job and provide you with a card that will give that great second impression you want to make.

If you do decide to design them yourself make sure you are designing in software meant to design business cards and the like. Using MS Word is not recommended. Make sure you are outputting at least 300 dpi and that any images or graphics that you use are also at least 300 dpi. Remember less is more, simple is better. And then get opinions. Lots of opinions. And your Momma doesn’t count.

———

Alice Anderson is, as yet, an unpublished romance writer who lives in Atlanta with her husband, Golden Retriever and two kitties. When she’s not writing she creates designs for new authors all the way up to New York Times Bestselling authors and promotes romance novels and authors through her creation, the CataNetwork. She’s written dozens of articles for authors and small businesses and they’re available on her website at http://design.pixelwareinc.com.

So, you’re published. And you’re learning the promotional ropes. You’ve heard words like branding and have been told that you need a website (you do), a newsletter (another must) and a blog.

But do you really need a blog?

Brace yourselves folks, no, you do not need a blog. In fact, the more authors that have a blog, the more diluted the pool of potential readers.

There are so many blogs out there these days. So many people send me promotion about their blog, the new contest on their blog, the latest post about what they ate for breakfast…I get a little overwhelmed.

So here are a few things to consider when deciding if a) you want/need a blog and b) if you should keep your blog.

Ready? Let’s get started.

First of all, how often do you blog? The blogs that work the best in terms of getting attention, repeat visitors, and work hard for your overall brand are very structured blogs and/or blogs that get updated daily.

If you don’t blog daily, do you blog weekly? And do you readers know to expect a new post every week?

Second, are your blog posts top quality? Be honest. Are they: helpful, informative, funny, creative? Or are they ramblings, pictures of your kids, and a recap of what you had for lunch?

Now, ramblings can be…well, nevermind… Pictures of your kids are appropriate if your blog is a family style blog that you use to keep your extended family in the loop. A recap of what you had for lunch is good if you’re on a quest to lose weight or something of that nature.

But take a hard look at your intended target audience. Romance readers. Yes, they want to get to know you, but how much is too much? When is enough enough? Could a good biography and a few frequently asked questions along with links to interviews work better for you? Would it save you time?

Third, what do you hope that your blog will achieve? What’s your reason and motivation for a) having a blog and b) continuing to post to your blog? If it’s just a hobby for you, great. If you’re doing it to keep track of your personal progress, great. If you’re using it as a promotional tool to help you capture an audience and further your brand, all the better.

Fourth, are you achieving your goals? Only you can answer this question.

Your options

You have options if a personal blog is no longer in the cards.

Take a vacation from blogging. Post a note that says you’ll be back from vacation in a year. Take a year off and see how you feel.

Join a group blog. But make sure that the group blog has an audience and intends to do more than write vanity letters about their latest release. Blog visitors don’t want a hard sell. They want information, to be entertained, to learn something new.

Guest Blog. There are great blogs all over the internet looking for guest bloggers. Sign up. And then offer them a valuable post.

Join your publisher’s blog.

Write articles for the RWR, your RWA Chapter Newsletter and/or all the various article websites out there. Associated Content is popular right now.

Say when

At the end of the day, only you can decide if a blog is right for you, if you have the time and the resources to devote to it. But in case you’ve been agonizing over that little piece of internet real estate, you have permission to freeze it, shut it down, pull the plug. Find another promotional option that will do more for you with less effort, something that you will enjoy more. Free reads, anyone?

Once you’ve published your first book, started your website, and have a few reviews under your belt your name will start to appear across the web. There may be new reviews you don’t know about or readers talking about you or your books (that’s always nice, huh?)

Instead of searching for yourself once a month, why not set up a google alert? Any time the term you’ve asked Google to alert you to appears on the web you’ll get a nice organized email with a link to the website and a snippet of text.

You can set these alerts up for as many terms (say one for you and one for each of your titles) as you want and have it send you an alert for each instance or one digest per day. Of course, if there are no new alerts, you won’t get an email.

To set up your first Google Alert visit this webpage.

I’ve discussed author resource boxes in the past and you may have heard of them before. But can you write a good one? And do you know the rules?

First of all, what does an author resource box do?

An author resource box (aka about the author) appears at the end of an article and we at catanetwork like to offer them to authors kind enough to guest blog for us. Sometimes you’ll see these “boxes” at the end of an article in a magazine, often in italics. Sometimes they’re actually boxed in, sometimes there’s a separating line or maybe even a few hyphens.

It’s job is to provide a brief amount of information about the author, explain why the author is an expert on the topic, and provide a way to find more information about or contact the author.

A good example of an author resource box:
Stephanie Bond is the author of over 40 humorous romance and mystery
novels, including the BODY MOVERS sexy mystery series and the
Harlequin Blaze Sex for Beginners trilogy: WATCH AND LEARN (Oct 2008),
IN A BIND (Nov 2008), and NO PEEKING… (December 2008). Learn more
about Stephanie and her books at www.stephaniebond.com.

Rules for an author resource box:

1. Keep it short. No more than 3 sentences max!

2. Write it in third person.

3. Start with your name.

4. Don’t mention every book you’ve ever written.

5. Talk about yourself and what you write, if it’s relavant to your article.

6. Consider having multiple author resource boxes in varying size and topic. Don’t be afraid to customize.

7. Invite readers to your website, but don’t hard sell. This isn’t a place to advertise. It’s a chance to become an authority.

For more information, see the following articles:

ezinearticles.com/?Article-Marketing-101:-The-Perfect-Author-Resource-Box&id=17172

www.submityourarticle.com/articles/Steve-Shaw-1/free-reprint-article-8615.php

loopbiz.com/business.small/resource-box.html

Looking to promote your latest book but don’t have the time or money? Team up with another author. Or two.

Find people who compliment you and your writing, authors who are as dedicated as you are. Go in with them on advertising (like a billboard ad on CataNetwork) or just swap blurbs on your blogs. Include each others blurbs in your newsletter. Team up to promote each other on loops, message boards, etc.

You don’t have to go it alone. Just like many writers have a critique partner, find a Promo Pal.

If you’re looking for a Promo Pal, leave a note below…

The book communities sprinkled across the internet provide a great resource for authors. Forget promoting your books, get involved. Discuss OTHER authors books. Get involved in gritty discussions of Harry Potter, Dan Brown, and Stephanie Myer. Add something (not white noise) to the conversation.

Nothing makes you look better as an author than well thought out discussions about what you know…books.

So sign up for an Amazon Connect account, Shelfari, GoodReads, and other online communities (like the catanetwork *wink*) and start discussing books.

Make sure to fill out your profile (with a link to your website) so that when readers come to learn more about you, they’ll be directed to the right spot. And if appropriate (such as groups and message boards) include a brief signature, again with a link to your website.

You may have a myspace page, but are you using it to your best advantage?

Good design?

One of the things that people love about myspace is the ability to customize it. But lets face it, not everyone has the best design sense. So make sure your page isn’t too busy. Make sure the text is legible. Make sure that visitors don’t have to scroll all over the place. Try to keep images of all the hunks providing you inspiration a similar size. How do you make sure it’s legible, non scrolling, etc. Ask a friend. Heck, ask me. Just ask.

If you weren’t an author…

If you weren’t an author promoting your books, what would your page look like? Would you be more personable? Would you have lists of favorite books? Pictures from your latest vacation? A favorite recipe? Your TBR list? Don’t lose yourself in your myspace page. It’s not just a billboard. Visitors like seeing what’s new with you. What you’re reading. What makes you human. So give them something besides blurbs and excerpts to read.

Add a book video or two…

You’ve heard that in order to get a little you need to give a little. Myspace makes it super easy to add Videos from myspacetv to your page. So find videos for your favorite books or authors and add them to your page with the click of a button. Spread the wealth. They might just do the same for you. You don’t need to keep the videos up forever. In fact, you could and should change them out to keep things fresh.

Bulletins

Start with a catchy headline. You do want your bulletins to be read, don’t you? Make sure your links are clickable. Make bulletins personal. Name names. Mention your friends. Tell others what readers are saying about your book. Speak as if you were talking to a close circle of friends… after all, these people are supposed to be your friends.

Make friends

No, don’t just add people. Find out more about them. Become their friend. What does it mean to be a friend? To care. To take an interest in that person. Be a good friend. Stop by and see what’s new with others. Give people something to talk to you about. If they ask a question on their blog, answer it! It takes you a moment, but shows you care.

Comments

Don’t post ads in other people’s comments. Keep your signature to a line. Use comments as a way to converse quickly. Discuss books. Ask questions. Give support. Don’t use it as an announcement sheet for you and your book. If you’re really good friends with someone, maybe mention your book’s release. But don’t spam everyone on your list. Chances are, they won’t remember who you are or the book’s title. They might delete the comment, so you’re wasting your time and theirs! And it’s doubtful you’ll sell a book that way because it just looks tacky.

Be sincere

Don’t forget that there’s a human on the other side of that myspace page. A human with feelings, problems, dreams, hopes, and most likely a lack of time. So don’t forget that when conversing with people on myspace. Don’t forget to be genuine and sincere. People can tell when you’ve read their book or are interested in their kids/family/life or if you’re just there to promote yourself.

What are your myspace pet peeves and tips? Share with a comment below.

PS. If you’re on myspace, look us up!

As you know, blogs and social networking are the rage. They offer a great means to communicate with your readers and other authors. And let’s face it, don’t you love getting comments?

I do.

But I hate spam. One way to combat that is to require your visitors to register/login before they can comment. Some blogging platforms like blogger make it so you can sign in once and comment on all blogger blogs. This works similarly for LiveJournal and Wordpress.com blogs.

But you need a different account for each platform. Or do you?

One ID? 

Wouldn’t it be great if you could have one username and password and it would work for dozens of sites your visit?

There is!

It’s called OpenId. And it’s coming to a blog near you.

If you’re using a platform that allows OpenId as an option to comment, do me a favor and enable it. If you have your own bulletin board system or Wordpress blog, there are free plugins that will make them OpenID friendly.

Where to Sign Up 

Try MyOpenId: www.myopenid.com/

OpenID for Wordpress plugin: verselogic.net/projects/wordpress/wordpress-openid-plugin/

I’ve seen this problem several times on authors websites. Usually from first time authors, and especially from authors who design their own websites. It takes time to get a website set up, work out the kinks, and make sure everything makes sense. I’ll give you that. But I have two things to mention here, there’s a checklist for your website at the bottom.

Secondary Website Pages Have No Navigation

It’s sort of like driving into the big city and your map gets sucked out the window. This is the feeling I get when I’m cruising through a website and suddenly the navigation menu disappears or stops working.

Perhaps it’s an Excerpt page. And it’s just a white page with text. No links to buy (bad, bad, bad!), no link back to your site (also bad), no direction whatsoever.

Have you ever been in a maze? What happens when you get to a dead end? You stop! And then you turn around. But with no navigation, it’s harder for visitors to turn around, find their way out, or continue moving through your site. Not only is this inconsiderate, it’s just plain silly. You want people to move around your site! The more they do, the greater the chance they’ll find a product they’ll love or a detail that makes you memorable.

So… make sure you have links on all your pages (even on excerpt pages!). And make sure your links are clickable! Navigation buttons that don’t actually work are useless.

Pages for Readers with No Information About Your Books

Occasionally I come across a site that has really different navigation. By that I mean the way the author has the links worded is unusual or unique.

Sometimes this unusual navigation leaves me scratching my head. I’m not sure where to go. (Note: If you must have unique navigation, have a more traditional word pop-up when you hover over them with your mouse.)

More than once I’ve come upon a page for Readers (which i suppose is an interesting idea, but your website should really be geared to readers. Period.) and I find all sorts of information. None of it about the author’s book.

Okay, let’s get one thing straight here. You’re an author. Your product is your book. Your job is to write a fabulous book and help sell it.

You are not selling it if you’re not promoting it to readers. So why on earth would you have a page called Books, Bookshelf, My Books, For Readers, etc… and have no information about YOUR books on it? I don’t know either.

Checklist:

__ Make sure all pages have some sort of navigation

__ Make sure all navigation links/buttons work

__ Make sure Book Pages have up to date information about YOUR books on them

Ever so often I come across something on a website that just isn’t as optimized as it could be.

Like today, I’m filling out yet another registration form (they really should use OpenID btw) and they require my birthday (for legal reasons). When I click on year, a big drop down box appears… and it starts at the year 1907. Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t know too many 101-year olds who surf the net on a daily basis. I’m sure there’s a handful out there.

But this is just annoying, especially considering that yesterday I filled out a similar form and the years started in the early 80s. I dug that. That seems to be the youngest you want to encourage and scrolling back a big is easy. Scrolling up from 1907, not so much.

Just a note for those of you creating registration forms out there.

As an author, you may be wondering where to promote yourself. Or where else to promote yourself. You’re probably looking for quick and easy tips.

So I have one for you. Fill out your profiles. Keep a list of where you’re registered. Update it once or twice a year minimum.

For instance, many of you are on yahoo. Do you know you can have a yahoo profile? And did you know that when readers click on your name on yahoo they’re taken to your profile? Yeah, you’re missing out on FREE PROMO! Go fill out your profile, include a photo, book cover, your web address, a bio about yourself and anything else you want to fill out.

Speaking of which, you really should have an ongoing file with this information in it. Here’s why: It’s easy to change out your information on websites. It’s quick to grab if you have a spare minute to do promo. It takes the headache out of promotion if you know you have the information you need in one easy to find spot.

Here’s the info you should have in your file.

• A short bio: 3-5 sentences (make it quirky and fun)
• A long bio: 3-5 paragraphs (make it fun but more autobiographical)
• A tag line for yourself
• Your website address
• Your blog address
• A link to sign up for your newsletter
• A link to any other places that you consistantly use for promotion
• A headshot or your latest cover
• An avatar (3 sizes, 50×50, 80×80, 100×100 are the most common sizes)

So while you’re out tooling around, stop by CoffeeTimeRomance and create an account on their message boards. Fill out your profile. That means your signature too.

Then head over to romantictimes.com and sign up for their message boards if you’re not already a member.

Have you updated your myspace page lately? Do you have a myspace page?

How about bebo?

Facebook?

Yahoo 360?

Now, how about blogs you’re a member of? Do you have good “promo data” in your profile? Why not? It’s easy and free. Take a minute to do it. When people click your name, they visit your profile. Don’t waste this precious promo time.

Are you registered with any of the CataNetwork sites? If so, login and update your profile. You can include a brief bio, links, change your email and more.

Are you on RomanceWiki.com? Why not, it’s a great place to be. Sign up, learn how to add yourself and all your books.

Then head over to wikipedia.com and do the same.

Does your publisher have a forum on their website? That’s another great place to fill in your profile and signature.

The point is, you never know when a reader is going to look at your profile. And you want to drive them to your website and your books. This is a quick, painless, and affective way to do it. And did I mention, it’s FREE PROMO?

Now, get off this website and go update your profiles!

I wrote this article several years ago and it’s gone missing from the site, so here’s a new version.

How many hits does your website get?

I see this question go by a lot and I wanted to address it to clear up the confusion.

Hits are not visitors. That’s the first thing you should know. You are a visitor. When you visit a website your browser “hits” the webserver for content. It says, hey, send me the page, the images, the little java applet in the sidebar there. And the Webserver returns all of that, logging each request as a hit.

Therefore every image on a page, and the page itself are logged as a hit. If you have 80 images on a page (not hard to do these days… even the tiniest image counts) then each time someone visits that page, the sites statistics raise by 81 hits. 80 images + 1 page = 81 hits.

This is a terrible statistic to go by as far as how much traffic a site is getting. Some sites pride themselves on having very few images (thus making pages load faster.) Other websites are nothing but a huge image sliced into hundreds of little pieces (to help the page load faster).

They may get the exact same number of users per month, say 1000 for easy math. The site with very few images, say 4, will return 5000 hits that month. (4 images plus the page = 5 x 1000 visitors = 5000 hits.)

The other site, with 149 images, will return 150,000 hits that month.

This makes it very difficult to know just how many people visit a site. Furthermore, some sites actually troll for hits, inviting people to come help them get a “million hits this month.”

So what do you ask for?

Unique visitors. These are the unique number of visitors that visit a site and this information is available via a good website statistics program. Any good site should have statistics to offer you. But make sure you ask for unique visitors, not hits!

Business Cards for Authors

The New Promotional Tool

By Alice Anderson

Let’s face it, unless you’re a best selling author, you’re probably always looking for an easy and more importantly cost efficient way to promote yourself. Right? But the question of the day is, who to promote yourself to.

Most writers spend lots of time and money on bookmarks, postcards, and banner ads. They’re hoping to increase their visibility to readers. Bookmarks, postcards, and banner ads are a sure bet to increase visibility to readers, but what about to editors, agents, and other authors. Not only are they readers, they are network connections.

As an author, your in the business of writing. Treat this business as you would any other. With professionalism and the tools that will help you network and sell. Imagine this scenario… you walk into a conference. You’ve got your name tag, a bag full of goodies to give away, your two sentence pitch on the end of your tongue and a smile permanently fixed to your face. You meet with dozens of authors and even a few agents. By the end of the day, you can hardly remember all the authors you spoke with, much less the editors and agents. How do you expect them to remember you? Aside from the next New York Times Bestseller, you’ve got to make an impression. A professional impression. Make it easy on others by handing them your business card right after you shake their hand.

Giving them your card will help them to remember you. Plus it’ll provide them with all of the necessary information about you. We’ll discuss what information you should include in a moment. So they’ve got your card, they can take it home with them, use it as a bookmark, or toss it in the trash. Don’t gasp just yet. Think about it this way, while most authors are going to pocket your card, others may loose it or toss it. But each card only costs pennies and is the perfect disposable promotional tool. Give them out everywhere you go. Leave them behind at restaurants. You never know exactly who will see your card. Don’t worry if it makes the circular file, it’s worth it for the visibility.

Now, what information to include on your card? Depending on how many cards you’re planning on giving away, consider putting your photo on it. That way people can easily remember your face. Real Estate agents put their photo on everything. They want to promote themselves, their face, their image. Put your name on it! Make it visible. Underneath your name, you may want to include Romance Author. If you’re not published yet, don’t despair. Put Romance Writer or writer on there. If you write a lot of articles or do freelance work, consider putting Freelance writer on there.

If you’re published, I know that you’ve spent hours perfecting your image… colors, a tag line, a logo……. Things that are your brand. If you haven’t done that yet, read my article on branding ASAP! When you’ve figured all of that stuff out, include it on your business card. If you write for a specific line that is known by it’s color, make that the predominant color of your business card. It’s all subliminal messaging.

It’s a way to keep your current information out there. You can print up small quantities at a time for a relatively cheap price. Make sure to get new cards as soon as you move, the moment you buy your domain name, if you get married and change your name. Any time your important information changes, update your business card. There’s nothing worse than having old information out there where people cannot get into contact with you. That’s a whole other article on networking and contacts.

Include your PO Box address. A public email address. Your website address! If you don’t have any of those, read these articles now.

So, you’ve got a photo, your name, your occupation, your colors, logo, tagline, PO Box address, public email address, web address. Anything else? Well it’s up to you how you include your pen name. Some people prefer to make their pen name the bolded name that grabs attention. If you write under more than one pen name, or are considering breaking into a new genre with a new pen name, consider a small section on your card that says Writing as ______________. If you’re going to a big conference and are planning on tossing business cards to everyone one you meet(even the bus boy, in case his girlfriend reads romance) and you have one or two books out right around the conference date, consider using the back of your card as a billboard to display your covers. Or you could use the back to display your current and upcoming release titles, dates, and other information.

Nervous?

Don’t be. There are plenty of tips and authors happy to give your advice and guidance. True, booksignings can be daunting, but preparation and good marketing will make it a success.

Speaking of authors giving advice, sign up for our author’s loop and ask any questions you may have.

There is a lot of information online about hosting a successful booksigning. I’ve gathered a couple of articles that I thought might be helpful.
But let us know about your book signing pitfalls and successes!

A good overview article with some basic step-by-step strategies:
http://www.writersweekly.com/this_weeks_article/000585_03062002.html

Some extra tips that might bring your more success:
http://www.writing-world.com/promotion/promo01.shtml

Places to promote your book signing/tour:

Your publishers website. They should have a space for this and help
you promote it. End of story.
Your website. Make this page easy to find, updated often, and a home
page attraction during weeks when you have an event.
Chats & Blogs – make sure to ask permission first
Myspace & Bebo – you never know which friend is going to be in that
city on that day. List it in your myspace calendar, on the blog, and
send a bulletin. Keep it upbeat!
Book-Bee.com
http://www.authorstrack.com/
http://www.booktour.com/readers
If you’re a member of one of the CataNetwork sites, let us know about
that as well by posting your info.

We asked several authors on myspace what they consider to be their top promotional tools and here’s what they said:

myspace – 4
yahoo groups – 2
their website – 4
their blog – 3
TRS book giveaway
live events like conferences and book signings
free ebooks
chats
business card
their newsletter

Note: The number to the right is the number of authors who indicated that as a top promotional tool.

What are your top promotional tools?

One small, but effective, way to get your name and website address out there is to swap links with link partners.

What’s a link partnership?

Link partnering is when you find people/websites with similar
interests, goals, audiences or complimentary ones and you exchange
links. You’ll see many authors with a list of author friends on their
website. This is very common on blogs; it’s called a blogroll. It’s
definitely something to consider and a great way to support your
fellow authors and favorite sites. It’s also a great way to get your
name out there.

When swapping links there are a couple of things to consider.

How much space are you willing to devote. Many authors have buttons and
banners for others to use. In other words, a graphic to post on your
site. Alternately, you just post links.

Consider dividing your links into categories. Giving visitors
categories makes it easy to find a link worth visiting. Examples:
Review sites, Authors, Friends, etc.

If you’re ready to start swapping links, we have a suggestion on where to begin.
Linking to the Cata Network and/or one of our sites

Each of our sites has a page called Link to Us. And it includes info
on how to link to us. But, we also have a page on our central website,
catanetwork.com, called Link to Us that has all sorts of graphics and
links for each of our sites. Even some extras. Definitely worth
checking out. There are even some blinkies on there for blinkie lovers.

http://readerslounge.catanetwork.com/?page_id=231

If you’re looking for a “read my review” graphic or something like
that, check out this page:
http://readerslounge.catanetwork.com/?page_id=231

Also on CataNetwork.com, we have a Link Swap page. We’ll swap links
with you there.

If you write ebooks, go to ecataromance.com and ask us to swap links.

If you write category romance, go to cataromance.com and ask us to
swap links.

Same thing goes for authors who write single titles in print, go to
singletitles.com.

And if you write super sensual books… go to sensual.ecataromance.com.

We look forward to swapping linkies with you.

Originally published in the October 2007 Newsletter for Authors

Recently on the Authors loop we had a wonderful discussion on being professional and what it means to be an author in this day and age. The authors had some fabulous advice and some really scary stories about other authors who don’t always put their best foot forward.

Here’s a brief summary of tips and advice.

1. Don’t go to a conference and get drunk. You might end up saying things you’ll regret. And you don’t want to be known as the “drunk lady at the bar.”
2. Treat people with courtesy. Try to answer your email as soon as possible, apologize for delays, give an explaination. Remember that everyone has a bad day now and then and give them the benefit of the doubt. You never know, their parent could have just died or maybe someone ran over their dog that morning. You really don’t know.
3. Speaking of other people… don’t brag and don’t gossip. Especially if you hardly know the person.
4. Be patient. You’re not the only author in the world waiting to hear from your editor, agent, web designer, etc. And don’t forget #2 above.
5. Don’t post personal information on your blog. No we don’t need to know how your doctor’s appointment went.
6. And speaking of blogs… it’s not an appropriate place to rant about your agent, your editor, your publisher, another author, a review, a reviewer, or another website. Just don’t do it. Fuss to your friends. Let the rest of the world be blissfully unaware. If you have a serious issue with one of the above, take it to a neutral third party and let them investigate.
7. Meet your deadlines.
8. Remember that this is a business. If you’re making money off of your work, you’re in business. Your publisher wants to make money off your work. As does the editor, your agent, the cover artist, even the printer, and the mailroom guy. Do whatever you can to make the process go as smoothly as possible. Be thankful. And oh yeah, remember #2 and #3.
9. Cut the umbilical cord. Yes, your book is your baby. But when you publish, it becomes the Publisher’s baby and the editor’s baby. And they want to sell it. Don’t throw a fit because the ask for a change. Remember #7 and that you’re all in this together.
10. When in doubt play nice or be quiet. Be careful who you say what to because it can always come back to haunt you. This has happened to countless authors. In some cases, they might say something about an editor on day one of the conference and by day two, their words have already made their way to the editor’s ears. No joke!
11. Follow the rules. No, not the writing ones. Your agent’s rules. You publisher’s rules. Even when you join a loop to promote your work, take the time to learn the rules. Nothing will make you seem more insincere than doing whatever you please with no interest how it affects others and what rules you’re breaking.
12. When in doubt, ask! People are happy to help.

If you have a thought to share, join our Author’s loop and tell us what you think: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CataNetwork-Authors/

I see a lot of bulletins go by on myspace that include links that aren’t hyperlinked. If you hyperlink your links you’ll likely get more visitors. So I’ve created a brief tutorial below on how to link your links.

Our example will be www.catanetwork.com

You want to write:

<a href="websiteaddresshere"> text or URL (aka www.catanetwork.com) here </a> 

You’re wrapping your text or URL with the open and close tag that will hyperlink it.

So it’ll end up looking something like this:

 <a href="http://www.catanetwork.com"> www.catanetwork.com </a> 

If all goes well, it’ll look like this when your readers see it:

www.catanetwork.com

Hope that helps!

So you’re putting out a monthly newsletter, and that’s great for name
recognition, but is your newsletter actually getting read?

Start with a great subject line.

• Tell what’s inside your newsletter. Stephan Author booksigning in Atlanta 1/15
• Use numbers. Ex. 2 New Releases from Stephan Author
• Create urgency. Last Chance to Save $8,000 on a New Home!

People Read Headings and Bullet Points

Headings and bolded lists make it easy for readers to skim content. Yes, they will skim your newsletter. So make sure you have important headings in place to take advantage of this.

Short Paragraphs and Lots of White Space

Use short paragraphs to keep readers reading. Use blank lines to break up your paragraphs and create white space, which is easier to read on a monitor.

What do you like about the newsletters you get? What don’t you like?

1. Your name. You want it big across the top of the page. But you
should also have it in text somewhere on the page.
This is a great way for search engines to find you. Also, if your name
is written across the page in a weird color or a hard
to read font, this lets people know how to correctly spell your name.

2. The Name of your book. And not just in an image. You want it written
in text. Again, for ease of spelling and for search
engines.

3. Your publisher, if you write for one. This something so many authors
forget, especially if they write for more than one
publisher. Don’t take for granted that your readers know which
publishers you write for. Make it easy on them to find the
book and more information.

4. A way to contact you! Via email, a contact form, snail mail or a
publisher. Have a way to contact you on your home page,
very visible! You never know who will visit your site and want to
contact you. Say, the Boston Globe. Or perhaps someone is
giving away free promo and you’ve won.

5. Your book cover. Whether you like your cover or not, it’s your
book’s face to the world. The cover takes your book from
invisible to visible and you want readers to see it, remember it, and
pick it up at the book store. So include your current
cover prominently on your homepage. Keep all other covers to a minimum
on your home page so not to confuse anyone.

I was checking out an excerpt this morning and thought perhaps a few
pointers were in order – from a readers point of view.

So I’m checking out this great excerpt – book and author shall remain
nameless – and it’s really good, so half way through, I’m wondering when
does this book come out, I can’t wait to read it!

I scroll back up….. nothing but the title there. Disappointed, I finished
reading, ready to slap down my credit card the moment the book is
available…. and find in the jumble of legal jargon at the bottom when the
book comes out.

So, my readerly advice.. At the very top of your excerpt page, give us
the title, your name, the ISBN, publisher/line, WHEN THE BOOK IS AVAILABLE,
a link to preorder or buy. And don’t forget the cover if you’ve got it.

Why do I want all that stuff? So I can print it out of course and take it
with me to the store! Don’t assume your readers are going to remember your
name. They might not even remember the title. They’ll remember the
excerpt, the premise of the book, but there’s no telling how much help the
local bookstore clerk will be in helping your reader find your book.

You’ve got a webpage, and true, the info may be elsewhere on the site, but
you want to think of each page as the only page your reader will print out.
That doesn’t mean to clutter it up and put tons of info on there. Respect
your reader and her time. Make it easy for her to find what she’s looking
for, print it out, and buy your book.

Luckily, the afore mentioned book comes out next month which is great for
me…. even if I did have to go digging.

Here’s another pointer. If you’ve got a ton of graphics on your site,
consider making your excerpt pages plainer. Stick with your colors, but
don’t have lots of graphical links and images on there. That’s not going to
save people ink.

Sprinkle reviews throughout your excerpt. An example of this would be Dale
Ketcham’s excerpt page (www.daleketcham.com). Think of them as pull quotes
in a magazine.

Also, post your cover again, maybe even two times. A small cover sprinkled
throughout will imprint the image in your readers brain.

And one more thing to consider on an excerpts page, Top | Bottom page links.
Make use of the anchor tags. If you’ve got a long excerpt, there’s no
telling when your reader will want to zoom to the bottom or top of the page.
Remember to sprinkle some navigation links throughout, but pick wisely.
Remember not to clutter.

by Alice Anderson

Here are a few small things that you can do to make yourself stand out in the field and make life easier on those who can promote you. After several years of promoting authors I can say for certain that authors who are organized and thoughtful are at the top of my list for people to call on when I have free promo to offer or big news to offer.

First of all, be consistent. Make sure that your PEN NAME is ALWAYS in your communication. Preferably in the From on your email. Generally it is set to your email address, sometimes your real name, a nickname, or even a husband’s name. Get your own email address and set it up so that email coming from it is sent from the name you want people to remember. If you correspond with your real name as well, include both! People who deal with multiple authors every day have enough people to keep up with without you being your “real” self in half the correspondence and your “pseudonym” self the other half. It just makes life simpler. So, recap….. your FROM: line on your email should say Suzie Q Author. In your email, sign as Susan Quinn Author, w/a Suzie Q Author.

Include your email and website address in your signature and any other correspondence.

Include it with payment for advertising.

Get an email address that represents you. SuzieQ1999@yahoo.com is not going to help me or anyone else remember you. If you haven’t gotten your own domain yet (and why haven’t you? They’re so cheap!) get a yahoo or gmail account that you use for business only that is something like SuzieQ@yahoo.com or SuzieQauthor@gmail.com.

Adjust your file names. When you send out a file, include your name. If you’re sending a banner, user the first letter of each word in the title and the last name you go by. If you have multiple size banners, include a number like 468×60. For instance, if my book was called Adrenaline Rush, my banner name would be ARAnderson468×60.gif

That file name tells me everything I need to know at a glance. Do not use spaces! Yes, Windows allows you to do it, but it makes it harder on webmasters. Spaces don’t transfer well to web addresses. And it’s just harder to keep up with.

If you’re sending out a publicity photo, make sure it isn’t called publicity photo.jpg. First of all, you broke the rule about not spaces. Second, if I come back to that file name, how am I to know who it is? Save me a few seconds and give it a better name! I’d do something like AAndersonphoto120×150.jpg. Yeah, it’s a little long, but it’s very helpful!

Remember that those who can promote you are human. They have a life. They have other authors they work with. Sometimes life gets busy. Sometimes email just doesn’t make it. So be polite, but don’t hesitate to check back. Follow up. Ask how you can help. Share your ideas and thoughts for making services and products better.

Learn how to write good promo materials and prepare them. Have a tag line.

A tagline is a brief description of you and your work. Nike’s tag line is famous. Just do it. Coca Cola’s tag line is famous. Always Coca Cola. Your tag line should represent you. Keep it short! To the point! Memorable. And use it everywhere.

Diana Laurence has a memorable tagline: Erotica with soul.

Prepare multiple length blurbs about yourself in both first person and third person. Ask how long of a blurb you should supply and if it should be first or third. Example of first. “I’d always dreamt of being a writer and once I read my first romance novel I was hooked. Six short years later I submitted my nineth novel to Super Cool Romances and they accepted my book. It’s been three years since I saw my book on the shelves……” Third person would read, “Alice Anderson always dreamt of being a writer and after reading her first romance novel…..”

Have a full length bio. About a page, maybe two. Generally in third person. Have a brief description written up about each book. Have a single line teaser written about each character. You never know when these will come in handy. Usually when you have a banner to produce.

Keep everything organized and in a separate file on your computer. But also keep a copy of your tagline and blurbs about you and your books in a single file that you can send if the PR person hasn’t asked for anything in specific. Sometimes we just forget and are vague or we don’t have a chance to be more specific. Usually, we’re happy to have more info than too little and you may just get extra promo because we have more information on file.

All that said… learn how to write a decent press release. These days the push is toward a more “finished” release. One that has quotes from you, another author, an editor, a reviewer, etc. Write up your release article style. That means, the important parts at the top. Include all necessary information for finding your book later. Make it more interesting than a promo blurb about your book. Is it part of a series? Tell us a tiny bit about the series and why everyone should be waiting on this next installment. Does it relate to a bigger issue; play that up. Does it represent a fantasy? Is it your first book? Are you celebrating the release of your 10th release? Find an angle that makes it newsworthy.

My last tip on dealing with PR people and getting more promo. Be as specific as possible. Provide as much information as possible. Give the name of the website you’re referring to, some people work for/with multiple sites/magazines. Give dates and times, prices, titles, publishers’ names, release dates, etc.

There are thousands of places on the web just dying for content and donations and contributions and participation. If you can follow the tips above, you’re bound to get decent promo at little or no cost.