Here’s another article reprint for your reading pleasure.

Have a nice Monday!

Eight No or Low Cost Ways to Promote Yourself

So you’ve had a book published? Congratulations. Now, what are you doing to promote yourself and your book. ‘But that’s the publisher’s job!’ many first time authors say. Correct.

A good publisher will work hard to promote new releases. But the more promotion, the more chances of good book sales, and whilst a publicist may be promoting dozens of books by dozens of authors at any one time, you can focus your efforts on promoting just your own book(s). Also, whilst a publisher might promote your new book for a month or so, you can go and on promoting it for as long as it is in print.

So, here are eight ways you can promote your book at no or low cost to yourself.

1. An Author Website

Every author should have a website promoting her books. You can see mine at www.sallymurphy.net. You can include details of each book you’ve had published, including a blurb, the year of publication, publisher’s name and ISBN.

Your website should also include a bio of yourself, contact details (you can use a form or use a link rather than pasting your email address on the page) and links to places which sell your books online. It’s also a great idea to include some classroom activities for teachers, and/or some activities for young readers.

You can pay someone to build you a website (I used Jason Rhodes and loved what he did), or you can build your own. You can also choose to pay for hosting or use free hosting. If the latter, try to choose one which places minimal advertising on your site.

You should also consider purchasing a domain name. For a writer the best domain is yourname.com or yourname.com.au. This allows people to find you easily and not have to remember a convoluted URL. I couldn’t get .com because there are too many Sally Murphy’s in the world, so I settled for .net and it works well. If using a free host which provides you with a subdomain, try to use one that puts your name at the front of the URL – ie www.sallymurphy.writernetwork.com rather than writernetwork/authors/sallymurphy

2. A Blog
A blog is like an online diary or journal. You can post pretty much anything you like in your blog, and as well as text you can include links, photos, videos and more. Being greedy, I have two blogs– http://pemberthybear.blogspot.com/ and http://sallymurphy.blogspot.com/. It isn’t necessary to have more than one, but each of mine is very different from the other.

There a many sites which host blogs for free. I chose blogspot because it’s easy to use and is also owned by Google, which seems to help with getting good search engine results. My blog was showing on page one of search results within 24 hours, and with no promotion, though I’ve since done a little promotion of my own.

Your blog can be about writing, your books, or something quite different. Whatever you write about, you can include details of your books and links to your website.

3. An Email Signature
An email signature is the text and links that you set up to be automatically added to the end of every email you send. Mine includes my name, a cover image from my latest book and links to my websites and blogs.

Setting up a sig line (signature) is easy. Use the help section of your email program for step by step explanation of how it’s done.

Once you have a signature, you are promoting your book(s) every time you send an email.

4. A Business Card
If you do nothing else on this list, get yourself a business card and a business card holder. It enables you to pass on your contact details to anyone who asks (and the more you network, the more you’ll be asked) and again promotes your books.

Keep it simple – your name, what you do (mine says Children’s Author), your contact details, including email. My graphic is always the cover image of one of my books. That way, if I give out my business card to someone outside the industry I have a chance to introduce them to my books.

You can get free or low cost business cards from Vista Print, but I recommend that you play with the design templates and add your own graphic so that it is unique.

5. Bookmarks
Book lovers love bookmarks. Many publishers (including the publisher of my two picture books) will have these made up as part of their promotional efforts. Mine have the book’s title and publication details as well as images from the book. If your publisher doesn’t provide them you can print some up on your own computer or get them made at your local print shop.

As well as giving them out at school visits and speaking engagements, you can leave them in libraries, community centres and so on. I also carry a few in my handbag and if someone asks for details of my books, I give them one. They can then take the bookmark to a book store when they request my book. It also serves a reminder to them – they’re less likely to forget my book if they’re carrying my bookmark in their bag.

6. Articles
Writing an article for a website, ezine or print publication can be a good way to connect with a wide audience and may even make you some dollars. You can write about writing, about the business of writing (for example, an article about 8 ways to self-promote) or about any topic that you know something about.

If you’ve written a fiction book about horses, why not write an article for a horse magazine? This gives you the opportunity to reach people other than other writers or booklovers. Your horse magazine reader may not buy a lot of books, but is much more likely to buy a book involving horses.

Most websites and ezines and many print publications give you the opportunity to include a profile and usually links to your websites.

7. Speaking Gigs
School visits, writing workshops and festival appearances are all excellent ways to promote your books, make some sales of stock and are usually well paid. If you are asked to speak at such an event, you should expect payment and should seek ASA Rates.

Whilst all these are good, you should also consider speaking to groups whose focus is not solely books or writing. Spread your fan base by speaking to any group who’ll listen. In recent weeks I’ve spoken to a craft group and a Rotary club. There were no other writers in the room on either occasion, but there were plenty of grandparents, aunties and uncles, any of whom are potential buyers for my books.

Tailor your speech to your audience and, wherever possible, have a display of your books in the room.

8. Press Releases

Your publisher will probably write and distribute press releases (along with review copies) to relevant publications before and immediately after the book’s release. However, they are less likely to target your local media. Local papers, newsletters and radio stations are always looking for local angles and are usually happy to run one or more pieces about your book, your book launch, your speaking engagement and more.

If submitting to a local paper, write your press release as an article (in third person), because very often they will simply reprint whatever you’ve submitted. Include quotes from yourself and attach good quality digital photos if emailing.

If a radio station is interested, they will likely want to interview you on air. If you are close to the station they may invite you in, but otherwise they might interview you over the phone. Although you need to think about speaking clearly, don’t be too nervous – it really is just like having a chat with a friend, and the interviewer will use questions to guide you.

Using some or all of these eight promotional tools can really help to get the word out about your book – and to keep the buzz going. These aren’t the only things you can do to promote your book – but they are eight that have worked for me. I hope they work for you, too.

Another reprint (of sorts) – though this one hasn’t been published elsewhere. This are actually my notes for a talk I presented at the Boyup Brook Book Bonanza last year.

1. First – writing for children is NOT easier than writing for adults and writing picture books is definitely NOT easier than writing children’s novels – the shorter, the more perfect every word has to be.

2. READ – new release books by Australian (presuming you want to be published in Australia, of course) publishers – Scholastic, Walker, Lothian (Hachette), Penguin, UQP, Fremantle Press, Macmillan, New Frontier, Little Hare, Omnibus and Working Title are all quality Australian publishers of books for young people.Talk to bookshop owners, children’s librarians etc and find out what books kids are reading – then read them for yourself. You should spend as much time reading as you do writing.

3. Learn the market. Before you consider sending a book to a publisher find their submission guidelines and do what they say. Also know the kinds of books they publish and determine whether yours is a good fit for their list. Most of the above-mentioned publishers have submission guidelines on their websites.

4. Write – every day – and be prepared to rewrite. No book is finished after one draft and rewriting is not the same as proofreading – just changing a word here or there, or fixing a misplaced apostrophes. Try a new point of viewpoint, new twists, new dialogue. Mem Fox takes up two years to write one 500 word picture book. If yours is finished in a day or a week it is probably not finished.

5. Write for the Children of today – not for adults or parents. Use child’s perspective and DON’T PREACH. Yes, books can teach lessons but kids don’t necessarily want to know they are learning. Just as adults read for enjoyment, so too kids should be reading for enjoyment. The best lessons in life aren’t necessarily taught to us, they are things we learn from experience.

Don’t write the book you loved when you were a child. Too many writers think they can be the next Enid Blyton or Doctor Seuss. Their books have already been written and are still in print. To be published you need to find your own style, your own voice.

6. Only write in rhyme if you have studied rhythm and metre. The rhyming market is a hard one to crack and your rhyme has to be perfect – you need to master the art of using rhyme to enhance the story rather than allowing the rhyme to dictate the course the story takes.

7. Learn from others. Read books on writing – again recently published ones, if possible. There are lots of articles and advice online. Some authors have advice on their websites, and their websites devoted just to the craft of writing, or specifically for writing for children. Newsletters like Pass It On (www.jackiehosking.com ) and Buzzwords are invaluable. Attend workshops or take courses if you’re really serious. Join a critique group of serious critiquers – preferably who are children’s writers and who are really constructive.

8. Finally, be prepared for highs and lows. Writing for children is fun and rewarding, but along the way be prepared for rejection. It is unlikely your first children’s story will be accepted and published. In can take years to write THE Story and place it with THE publisher. But if writing for children is your dream or you passion, do it.

This article first appeared in Buzzwords Magazine in 2007. As promised below, I’m reposting it here for your reading pleasure. Enjoy.

Have you ever had a hobby, or even a passing interest, which has turned into a passion which seemingly knows no bounds? I have. It’s my website, Aussiereviews.

Back in 2001, when I was discovering the wonders of web surfing, I came across lots of book review websites. I thought this was a pretty good way of getting the word out about the many wonderful books published each year. However, I also quickly noticed that there were very few Australian books being reviewed on these websites.

So, I had the idea of setting up a site which only reviewed Australian books. I figured it would be a good thing to do and I thought it might also help to build a few writing credits at a time when my publication successes were slow. I didn’t foresee just how big the site would become.

At the time I knew very little about website design or html. I still don’t know a lot, though I know enough to get by. I also didn’t have much cash to spare for domain names, web hosting and so on. I found a wonderful way to get the site up and running without any outline or special html skills. A company called Webseed was offering free websites. They would register the domain name and provide a template. Their system allowed website managers to upload new content without needing html. It also indexed and cross referenced quite easily. I applied for a site, suggested the name Aussiereviews and was accepted.

So, I had the website. Next I needed some content. I knew a little about reviewing books from my studies at university, my time in the classroom and from having read many reviews. I also spent time reading articles about reviewing. I also felt qualified to offer an opinion, again from my university qualifications (I have a BA in English, and a Graduate Diploma in Education), my experience as an English teacher, my writing skills and so on.

Next, I needed some books to review. The first reviews I posted were of books from my own bookshelf. Then, I approached Australian publishers via email, offering to review their new releases. I sent them the link to my site so they could see what I was already doing, and within a few weeks I had books turning up in my mail, ready to review.

Six years later, Aussiereviews has over 1300 reviews. Most are of children’s books though I also review adult fiction and non-fiction, educational books and I have also reviewed music and DVD titles. I do most of the reviewing myself, though I accept reviews submitted by other people. I don’t actively seek outside reviews or reviewers because Aussiereviews is a non-profit enterprise and, as such, I can’t pay people for their reviews.

Aussiereviews has outlasted Webseed, the company which gave me my start. When they closed their doors I had the opportunity to buy the domain name, which I did, and of course since then have had to also pay for my own hosting and have had to learn more html. I also have an ongoing need to redesign the site to make it more user friendly which I keep putting in the too hard basket.

I receive over 300 hits a day (at present the average is over 400, but this tends to go up and down). It seems most of my visitors come via search engines – people actively seeking information on specific books or searching for a particular type of book. At the moment the most popular search phrases which bring people to my site include ‘Don’t Call Me Ishmael’, ‘Being Bindy’ and ‘Wombat Stew’. Most of my visitors come from Australia but there are many from overseas, including the USA and the UK.

From personal feedback, it seems many of my visitors are either parents, looking for good books for children, teacher s and librarians seeking information about books they’ve already heard of, and adult readers looking for books or reviews of books they’ve heard mention of. Most hits to the site are to pages reviewing children’s books, from picture books to young adult, and the majority of my reviews are of children’s books, because this is where my passion really lies.

So, if I’d known six years ago just how big Aussiereviews would become, would I have started it? Sometimes it feels like I’ve created a monster. I have an unending stream of books arriving in my mailbox, and often up to 100 books waiting for my attention.

I look back at how naive I was when I started the site. I felt qualified because of my education and work experience. I had no idea just how qualified some book reviewers are. Although I was serious writer, I didn’t really know a lot about the publishing industry, and I didn’t know that many people believe authors should not also be reviewers. I didn’t know who would read my reviews or why. I didn’t have any sort of plan – just to start a site, write some reviews and see what happened.

I also didn’t know that there were different kinds of reviews. I write short reviews – just a couple of hundred words, usually, which give a teaser about the plot, sum up what’s good and/or not so good about it and give the publication details. For picture books I also comment briefly on the illustration style. Other publications will devote a whole page or more to the review of one book, giving a detailed analysis of the plot, writing style, illustration techniques and more. Since starting Aussiereviews I’ve actually written reviews like that for other publications, but I choose to stick with shorter for Aussiereviews because I believe that’s what my readership wants. I believe there is demand for reviews of differing length and focus from different publications.

But what I also didn’t realise back then was just how much reward I would get from the site. I love that I get to read the latest releases from most Australian publishers. I love that I get to give my opinion on these books and to spread the word about some truly wonderful books which don’t always get the attention they deserve. I love that I do have a much better understanding of the publishing industry, and an awareness of who publishes what kinds of books.

Most of all, I love the feedback I get from people who use my site. I love that the reading public, teachers, parents, authors and publishers see benefit in what I do. These are the things can keep me doing it and the very things that tell me that if I had known back then how big Aussiereviews would become, I would still have started the site.

Aussiereviews is no longer a hobby or passing interest. Aussiereviews is a huge part of who I am.

Sally Murphy is the owner of Aussiereviews.com, and also the published author of 24 children’s and educational books. You can visit her at Aussiereviews or at her author site, www.sallymurphy.net.