tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post854456159513505339..comments2023-11-26T08:55:00.075-05:00Comments on Steph Su Reads: Marketing Advice for Self-Published AuthorsSteph Suhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09834692034486125015noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post-37991194347366352172012-07-24T08:42:45.803-04:002012-07-24T08:42:45.803-04:00As a marketer I believe it's worth reading. I ...As a marketer I believe it's worth reading. I agree... be socialize. If your are an author/writer.. get a blog/site, connect your reviews to blog/site, update your content then share it socially. Congrats! from - <a href="http://xlibris.com/faq_self_publish.html" rel="nofollow">Xlibris</a>Sharon Edrotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03652182420671183128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post-7297632685307076032012-05-30T15:08:42.033-04:002012-05-30T15:08:42.033-04:00Another piece of advice from the PR side: Lots of ...Another piece of advice from the PR side: Lots of self-publishers and e-publishers offer publicity services. I know there are just as many bad publicists out there as there are authors who are poor marketers, but there are some of us that actually take the time to do this kind of research and make sure you fantastic book reviewing bloggers are the right fit for the author and book (and, you know, that you actually accept self-pubbed books). <br /><br />So find one of those publishers.PRbookgirlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post-2723289256704117752012-05-26T09:30:55.900-04:002012-05-26T09:30:55.900-04:00Good post! I must confess that at first I thought ...Good post! I must confess that at first I thought the worst cover that you posted was a Janet Evanovich book! lolMarghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13508430635744720721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post-35431154472296731292012-05-21T12:59:53.494-04:002012-05-21T12:59:53.494-04:00Great advice. I'm pretty sure I'd accept a...Great advice. I'm pretty sure I'd accept any physical book of a genre I like if the request fitted that formula.Abigail@The Story Factory Reading Zonehttp://abigailannreading.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post-91093638786194613392012-05-20T23:47:33.573-04:002012-05-20T23:47:33.573-04:00I got a review request for a self-pubbed book that...I got a review request for a self-pubbed book that I took the author up on and that is a rare thing for me. They were polite, professional, they spelled my name right, they followed my review policy to a tee, and gave a sample that convinced me that I really did want to read it. I was SO impressed.Lainahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00134705793566699951noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post-18013190782025074802012-05-20T12:38:37.292-04:002012-05-20T12:38:37.292-04:00Great advice! I do read self pubbed books but I pr...Great advice! I do read self pubbed books but I prefer to just buy them for. 99 cents or 2.99 and not feel stressed when I hate them. (I don't finish them then so no review) I'm not accepting any books for review right now so I know if I get requests they haven't read my review policy.<br />The cover matters SO much! If its a great cover than chances are much better that I will read it. Even if its just going on my kindle, it NEEDS a good cover. Sample chapters are definitely a good idea too!Candacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01701325312535440179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post-42165507602478824802012-05-20T05:10:44.488-04:002012-05-20T05:10:44.488-04:00Great post! I get so many review requests from sel...Great post! I get so many review requests from self-pubbed authors (even though I state on my blog that I don't accept them), and a lot of the phrasing really bugs me.<br />The funniest one was from an author who used a formula like you said, but had forgotten to alter and personalise it! It literally said "Dear [insert name] I love your blog [blog name] and [insert a few personalised sentences about blog] and was wondering if you would be interested in reviewing my book..." <br />It cracked me up!Sally@Always Lost in Storieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05855315495596558874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post-31267042236236555412012-05-20T01:30:15.295-04:002012-05-20T01:30:15.295-04:00Excellent advice, Steph Su :) I get a lot of poorl...Excellent advice, Steph Su :) I get a lot of poorly written requests and I have started ignoring those entirely. I'm sharing your blog post on Twitter, I know I have people there following me who would greatly benefit by heeding your advice.Marihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11340060809181439236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post-62497527063014682832012-05-19T11:05:43.950-04:002012-05-19T11:05:43.950-04:00If everyone followed this advice I'd relax my ...If everyone followed this advice I'd relax my "no self-published titles for review" rule! I have a sneaky way to test whether people have really looked at my site - my blog name is Jean Little Library, while my real name is Jennifer (and is clearly written in my review policy). Jean Little is the name of a Canadian children's author and comes up easily on a google search. You'd be surprised (or not) at how many people address me as Jean...an automatic delete for me!Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05096787155616041727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post-6744963635953531122012-05-18T15:51:47.125-04:002012-05-18T15:51:47.125-04:00Good advice, Steph. I generally don't post abo...Good advice, Steph. I generally don't post about self-pubbed books on my daily blog, but I make exceptions when I get a nice query that seems as if it was written for me. I'm resentful when I get a form letter and the sender clearly hasn't looked at my site.<br /><br />I will say that getting great cover art is really important, but it's harder than you think to find someone who can do a good job. Stock photos are often so generic they're forgettable. The author has an idea of a character, outfit, pose and background that may be extremely difficult to create.<br /><br />I'd add to your list: don't try to rank up Twitter followers and then only post spam about your book. If you follow 30,000 people, I know you're really following no one.Martahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16853249783973964978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1214401809446305406.post-40681964922616722462012-05-18T10:02:44.703-04:002012-05-18T10:02:44.703-04:00Great post. It's the bad covers that really ge...Great post. It's the bad covers that really get me. Of course most people know someone who can sort of draw, knows how to take a photo and can do a basic photoshop job. We were all doing that easy as pie in IT at school when we were kids. It doesn't mean you are qualified to create a cover. Ive had a lot of self published authors email me and say 'and the cover was designed by professional artists....' when the reality is it looks freaking awful. <br /><br />I've stopped agreeing to read self published books. Mostly because they just aren't great. I know there are some fantastic ones there, Angelfall for exitaly, it's just finding them.Amy @ Turn the Pagehttp://www.turn-the-page.netnoreply@blogger.com