Author Tip: Up Your Book Sales Before Publishing

You want your book to be a bestseller. Maybe you have an agent, even a publisher, but how to help your book or ebook reach the top of a bestseller list?

There are tons of books, blogs and web sites with articles on marketing strategies, using the correct marketing mix, tips on writing, and, well, you get the idea.

Here is one tip:
Get feedback from people for whom the book is written!
No, your book is not for everyone. Who are your prospective readers? Women, mothers, men, men in the military? Whether you write sci-fi, non-fiction, fiction, young adult, your manuscript must appeal to the readers in that market.

The only opinion that really matters is the opinion of your prospective reader. Not your family, not your editor - your reader. Don't be so busy writing you don't take the time to get feedback.

What are your best tips to market your book or finding your audience?

6 Tips on What Your Social Media Marketing Specialist Should Be Doing for You

Often I am asked "What should my Social Media VA be doing for me?"

Here is a short and I hope useful answer to that question

The classic social media responsibilities are:

1. Creating a voice that represents the brand

2. Monitoring trends and competitors

3. Participating in Twitter conversations

4. Maintain client social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and key platforms.

5. Write and post regular updates to the social media accounts. (Client and VA need to determine what regular means!)

6. Work with client to determine optimal content to post.

In any event, be sure to agree on the duties, actions and reports you want your VA to provide.

Hope this helps!

Like to hear what your tips are!

Hope Clark Shares Important Info for Writers on Social Media Use and Groups

LIMIT YOUR GROUPS

Great advice from Hope Clark for writers (and business owners.) Hope's newsletter is a useful tool for writers.

"I was online recently when a writer said she was starting
a group that would help writers to stay organized in their
profession. I raised both eyebrows, recognizing someone who
most likely enjoyed the feeling of bring a writer, but not
the actual writing. I expressed non-interest, reminding
her that too many groups, while fun, are subtle enemies
of your writing.

A string of memberships does not a writer make. I don't
care if they are MWA, RWA, SFWA, SCBWI, or any other
alphabet organization. When I see someone who belongs to
a long list of groups, I wonder how much time they write.

That's part of the reason that writing conferences rotate
their organizers. Takes a rare breed to annually organize a
conference and still take writing seriously. While we need
those organizers, they are sacrificing their writing in
order to help other writers. Noble, but disabling for the
actual writing effort.

Same goes for Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and so on. Yes,
social networking is a necessity. Yes, they can consume
your writing time. It's a careful balance. You need the
network, but you also need to write. What's a network if
you can't get words on paper, much less polish them
properly.

I've been known to join a group, try it out, and not
renew. If the group benefits me, rejuvenates me, and doesn't
suck the life out of me, I'll stick around. I also will
allow no more than one group to be a priority for me.

FundsforWriters networking is my number one. I hope to
join Mystery Writers of America once my suspense is published.
Thank goodness my publisher is a recognized name in their
ranks. I belong to two critique groups. Past that, I'm a
back-of-the-room member of anything else. No, I'm not
lazy. Quite the contrary. I know myself. I'd be in the thick
of things wanting to be a mover and shaker. So I limit myself.

Watch the reaching out. It's needed for networking, but all
too often you forget to retreat long enough to get your
best writing done."

Hope Clark

THE BLOG - http://www.hopeclark.blogspot.com
TWITTER - http://twitter.com/hopeclark
FACEBOOK - http://www.facebook.com/chopeclark
ABOUT.ME - http://about.me/hopeclark

Love to hear from you. How do you manage your groups?