1. Buy your domain name now
An author recently called to discuss our website services and during the conversation she asked if her name was available as a domain. I ran a quick check and found the name had been registered just a few months earlier. If that was not disappointing enough, I found that someone had just put up a one page website in memory of their deceased mother. So here was an author with a book ready to launch whose name was a website saying she had died! With a domain name costing less than $20 per year, you should buy “yourname.com” today and hold on to it forever. And while you are at it, go ahead and buy your “booktitle.com” too. If you change the title later, you can let the registration expire – think of it as inexpensive insurance.

If you find your name is not available, you can try variations such as adding an initial or using just your initials. By registering your name now you will be able to coordinate your domain name with your professional name. It is much easier for people to find you if the name on your book, article or other writing matches your domain name.

2. Stick to the “.com” web address
The “dot whatever” (e.g. .com, .net, .org) part of a domain name is referred to as the Top-Level Domain, or TLD. Most people are aware there are other TLDs besides “.com” but do not confuse them by using anything else (unless you are a non-profit organization and then you should choose .org). It is ok to buy other generic TLDs to match your .com if you want to prevent someone from using them. To protect your name, I recommend buying the .net and .org as these are the mostly widely known. You may also consider buying the .biz, .info, .name and .us. But since there are more than twelve generic TLDs and more than 250 country and other TLDs, you should not try to buy them all.

3. Launch your website a minimum of 3-6 months before you think you need it
You should launch your website as soon as you consider yourself a professional writer, even if you are not published. Two reasons are that it helps project your professionalism and it provides a way for people to find and contact you.

At a minimum, you should launch your website three to six months ahead of when you think you need one. Why? It will take that long to show up in all the search engines, especially Google. Plus it takes times to build links, see “Developing inbound links” below.

4. Keep it professional
Your website should reflect the professional writer that you are. That means good design, crisp copy, focused content. If you are also a graphic artist you may want to create the design yourself. If not, have the design created by a professional, whether with a custom designed site or a professionally designed template. A template is a website design developed independently from your site and it may be used by other websites. It is ok to use a professionally designed template as this should save you a lot of money. However, the templates included with some software may be too easily recognized and are best avoided.

Resist the urge to include cute, frilly, extraneous content on your site. Your kids may be talented, your pets adorable and your vacation fun, but do these have anything to do with your writing? If not, leave it out.

Spinning and flashing graphics look cheap. Having music play automatically is annoying and potentially embarrassing for someone viewing your site from work. Heavy graphics will make the page slow to load for those on slower connections. Do not go with a “free” site that does not use your own domain name or that put ads on your page. These types of sites say you are cheap and unprofessional. Think about the sites that you do business with – what level of professionalism do you look for and expect? You are a business too! Have your site support your platform as a professional writer.

5. Use it to sell your book.
Surprisingly, some author sites overlook the basic purpose of selling books. There are several ways to sell your book online, make sure your website does at least one of these.

Tell them to contact you. The simplest way to sell is to tell someone to contact you to buy your book. Whether by email, phone, or mail, provide visitors the information they need to get in touch with you to buy your book.

The most common way to sell your book online is to direct buyers to another website. That is, provide a link visitors can click to take them to a site where your book is sold. This may be your publisher or one of the online booksellers (Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Booksense.com or an independent). If possible, link to the specific page so your book will appear rather than having a buyer search for you at the site. These sellers handle the sale and fulfillment (shipping) of the order.

If you are handling fulfillment yourself, you have a couple of choices.

Setup up a PayPal account and put a link on your website to your PayPal page. PayPal is easy to setup and use, but suffers from an image problem because of its heritage as an auction site payment system and some quirks regarding accepting credit cards.

Use a shopping cart. Generally, a shopping cart and the related merchant account for accepting credit cards are too much trouble and expense for a single author site. However, some website systems provide a shopping cart you can use for a reasonable fee.

6. Make your site search engine friendly
The subject of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is often obscure and mysterious. One reason is that the search engines do not disclose exactly how they work. So there is a lot of guessing and trial and error. A lot of good information can be found at the search engine’s website, but here will I cover some of the basics.

First, have a clear hierarchy and make sure every page is reachable from at least one static link. Second, use text rather than images to display important information such as names and titles. Third, give your pages a clear and meaningful title. Finally, make use of meta tags such as key words, alt, and descriptions (meta tags are invisible to a visitor but used by some search engine robots).

If you are having your website custom built, your developer should know these things and will incorporate them into your site. If you are using one of the easy-to-use build your own website systems, you should find out how their system handles these suggestions.

Do not try any tricks on your site to deceive the search engine robots, these can get your site banned. Tricks such as hidden text and links, sneaky redirects, irrelevant words or duplicate content are considered deceptive or manipulative behavior.

Don’t participate in link schemes that promise to link many sites to yours. This technique is considered spam by search engines and could result in a lower ranking for your site.

7. Submit your site to only 3 search engines, if at all
Three search engines have nearly 80% of the U.S. search market. Google has almost 50%, followed by Yahoo and MSN. Plus many of the other search engines get their content from these three. So if you choose to submit your site, do not worry about the others. The exception is if there is a particular specialty search engine that your target audience uses. If you know your audience expects you to be listed on a particular search engine, be sure to submit your name to that site.

Google says it is not necessary to submit your site because their automated robots crawl the web following links and finding sites for inclusion. This is true for the other search engines too. That is why having links to your site is important.

To go a step further, you can submit your site to The Open Directory Project at dmoz.org. This is a human-edited directory of the web. A directory differs from a search engine in that a directory uses humans to classify a site. A search engine collects content and displays the results based on the words you use in the search. Yahoo.com has the best known directory and it was the basis for their early success. However, you must pay for inclusion in their directory. Do not confuse Yahoo’s directory with their search engine. They now have both, having added the search engine as others such as Google became popular.

It is worth mentioning that dmoz is a volunteer project and it does not accept all sites that are submitted. When you submit it is up to you to find the category that best fits your site.

To submit your site, use the links below or go to the search engine or directory website and search for a link to submit your site. There is no charge for submitting your site.

Google
Yahoo
MSN
dmoz

8. Develop inbound links
These are links from other websites to your website and another reason you should launch your site well ahead of when you think you will need it. You will need that lead time to get other websites to link to your site.

Why get other sites to link to yours? Google pioneered the idea that the more links you have coming in and the higher ranked the site that provides the link, the more valuable your site is ranked. This is the “linking economy” – the value of your site is determined by how many inbound links you have plus how many people find and click on your site from a search engine.

So how do you develop links? There are several ways. One is to provide your website address to anyone who interviews you or reviews your work and to include it with every email, letter, book, article or other writing. Another is to identify websites that your audience visits and contact them. But before you contact them you should visit the site and find out all you can about them and why they would want to link to you. In some cases you may be able to entice them by offering a link from your site to theirs. But unless you have an established readership and people visiting your site this may be more a matter of courtesy than real value.

9. Track your websites performance
There are several ways to keep track of what your website is doing. The simplest method is a counter. You have seen these at the bottom of some web pages. In my opinion, the problem with a counter is that it is ugly, unprofessional, very simplistic and rather dumb. Simplistic because it only reports visits to one page and dumb because you can hit the refresh button on your browser and watch the count go up.

A step up from a counter is a tracker service. With this service you put a tag on your webpage and the information is collected for you. Generally the free services require their icon appear on your site and typically for a fee it can be hidden.

The most complete and powerful way to track performance is to analyze your website logs. All web servers are capable of logging activity on a website. Some hosting services provide access to an online log analyzer which you can view with a browser. For deeper analysis you can get the logs and purchase an analysis program and do it yourself. Generally, an online analyzer from your hosting company will give you more than you need. Ask about tracking your website performance when you consider a hosting company.

10. Keep your site up-to-date
Nothing shouts unprofessional like a stale, neglected website. Not that you have to update your site every day, but it needs to be current and correct. If you are having a site developed, ask about being able to do the updates yourself. One of the overlooked costs of a website is the ongoing cost of updates. Simple updates like changing copy, adding a clip and adding new events to your calendar are tasks you should be able to do easily and quickly. Search engine robots like fresh content and will visit more often if you are making changes.

Summary
Take my advice and get started today on assuring the success of your website. If you follow through on these ten secrets, you will be well on your way.

Marshall Turner is the President of Turner Technology, Inc. and creator of www.WebforAuthors.com. WebforAuthors.com provides authors and writers an easy-to use system to create and update their own websites. He can be contacted through the WebforAuthors.com or at \n mturner@webforauthors.com.

Does your community have a historical conservation organization? If you write historical fiction, is there a way to connect your writing to local history and/or work with the organization to draw local interest to your book?

If you are fortunate enough to have a public broadcasting television station (PBS) in your community, donate 2-3 copies of your book for their telesales auction. There’s no better way to get a FREE 2-3 minute on-air promo that has the potential of reaching thousands of households.

Get to know the managers of the local bookstores and set up a few book signings throughout the year. Be sure to send out flyers, post cards, and/or e-mails to family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, etc., at least a week before your signing. Start thinking outside the box and don’t limit book signings to bookstores. Most communities have annual events that draw local attention. If you manage to sell 5-10 books, it would easily pay for the cost of the booth (if applicable) and put your face and name in front of a diverse group of potential readers.

Does your book have a seasonal theme? For example a Halloween murder mystery – focus a special local promotion leading up to Halloween.

Create an alliance with your local library. No, books that are checked out of the public library won’t earn the author royalties, but think EXPOSURE. Most people who read and enjoy an author’s writing will more than likely want their own copy. Again, word of mouth will sell books. Most libraries and book clubs are eager to find new programs to offer their patrons and from their standpoint there’s no better draw than a local author. You’ll need to take your books, but this is a focused group of readers who will hang on every word you say. Also, contact your state library to see if they sponsor any contests for resident authors. If your local library promotes books on their blog ask them to write a review or spotlight your book. Again, working with a library may not generate immediate sales, but if you are a new author, getting name recognition and a following is far more important right now. Once the reader is hooked, they’ll want to buy all your books.

Don’t give books away unless you stand to gain promotional exposure from it. Tell your family and friends who expect a freebie that you must cover your costs. Whenever a book is given away it is a lost sale and will most likely end up being circulated to others without any purchase or, it will collect dust on their bookshelf. Remember that something for nothing is worth nothing, but when an investment of time (to search for the book) and money is made, the person will most likely read it.

There is no way to keep people from sharing and/or exchanging books. Still, from a promotions standpoint it goes back to exposure and getting your name out and that’s good. But an author has to at least get one sale out of the deal.

Keep writing and remember –

“Risk more than others think is safe. Care more than others think is wise. Dream more than others think is practical. Expect more than others think is possible.” — Claude T. Bissell, Canadian author and educator

Marta Stephens is a native of Buenos Aires Argentina but a resident of the United States since the age of four. She began her career as a fiction writer in 2003. The desire to journal her thoughts evolved into a life-changing passion that has led to the birth of her Sam Harper Crime Mysteries and her debut novel, Silenced Cry. She also has several short stories and flash fictions to her credit.

Stephens lives in the Midwest with her husband, daughter, son, and their three very spoiled Boston Bull Dogs. She has a degree in Journalism/Public Relations from Ball State University, is a member of Sisters in Crime International, Sisters in Crime Speed City Indiana Chapter, Deadly Prose Critique Group, and the Midwest Writer’s Workshop.

Aside from her writing, Stephens has earned several awards in local competitions for her oil paintings, enjoys gardening, antique collecting, graphic design, and shared moments with friends and family.

Stephens co-designed the book cover for Silenced Cry with friend Scott Parkison (IN), created the book trailer, and designed this website. For Stephens, learning is a life-long adventure.

What’s next? Book two in the Sam Harper Crime Mystery Series is in the works. Look for it in paperback and eBook formats in late 2008.

The key word is NETWORK and RELATIONSHIPS, but don’t wait until your book is published to begin building a communication network. I joined my first author forum several years before Silenced Cry was released in April 2007, by BeWrite Books (UK). I’ve built my network of friends and contacts through membership in about 20 sites. These sites represent more than 16,000 members and potential readers. The number of readers increases when I add in the number of people who visit my website, my pages in NING groups, Facebook, Myspace, Gather, Squidoo, Authors’ Den, Amazon, and other such sites. Also not included in that figure are the friends and family who are on my mailing list. What’s more important is that you will also meet potential sponsors on these sites as well.

Join diverse groups that provide different focuses such as some general author forums where anything having to do with writing can and is discussed. Other groups may have a membership with focused interest on your preferred genre, while yet others focus on discussions about marketing, agents, and publishing.

Several people have asked me how I find time to stay current with the various posts and keep up with my writing. As mentioned in my previous article, getting involved within those networks doesn’t mean you have to devote hours a day to each one, but do make yourself known to others. Get involved in the conversations that are of interest to you and ones that you can contribute to. Think of how many people you know and come in contact with every day. Each member in these sites probably knows as many or possibly more people than you do. Get to know them. Pay attention to what is being discussed and follow the links they mentioned. You never know where they may lead you. If a certain link is not to your liking, go on to the next one.

Get Ready:

So, the day of your book launch has come and gone and now you feel it’s time to beef up your promotions. Great! Roll up your sleeves and prepare to work for several weeks on nothing but your virtual book tour.

Step 1:

Don’t be shy to ask for sponsorship. You’ll find that most authors or site owners will be more than happy to showcase you. It’s a win/win situation. The site owner wins because you’re doing all the work; writing the articles and promoting their site. You win because you will be able to promote yourself and your book to a target audience that you might not have had access to prior to the tour.
Write a basic announcement and customized it to fit each site based on their criteria for self-promotion. Beware; there are author sites that frown on self-promotion. Make the announcement short, sweet, and to the point. Mention that you are making plans for a virtual book tour (give the dates) and indicate that you would like to know if anyone would be willing to sponsor you on their website or blog. Don’t be afraid to ask. Virtual book tours are a win/win situation-more on this in a minute.

Step 2:

Within hours of my announcement, I began to receive e-mails from some of my contacts with an “I’d love to sponsor you-please send…”

Remember, everything about the tour is entirely your responsibility.

1. Study the sites of those who have invited you to be a guest writer. Read what others have posted to those sites. What can you write about yourself, your book, your characters, etc. that will fit the site’s format?

2. Don’t make the mistake of accepting the offer to post if the site doesn’t fit your schedule. I turned one offer down because they wanted a book review. I was reading a book at the time, but I wasn’t going to have time to finish it and write a review in time for my tour.

3. Get a calendar and write down the names of your contacts and the blog’s name and URL.

Don’t over commit. If you can’t write more than four or five articles, don’t promise to do seven or eight. It’s better to add events to your tour than to commit and not follow through.

4. I found it helpful to create an e-mail folder titled Virtual Book Tour. I moved all my e-mails (received and sent) into that folder so I could find important e-mails easily. I also printed the final e-mails confirming the date/time of the event and placed them in a manila folder in event date order.

5. Create a folder in your favorites and save the links to each website and/or blog that is sponsoring you so you can find the links quickly.

6. Try to do a variety of events. Ask if you can write an article for some of the blogs, ask others if they would like to interview you. If they’ve read your book, perhaps they will be willing to write a review. Check to see if a group has a chat room and would be willing to schedule an hour chat with you and their members. Check into other media opportunities such as radio and television. Be prepared to send a picture of your book cover or banner to some of the sites. Remember to include a few local blogs in your mailing if they are available, such as local library or book club blogs.

7. Start writing. Type, type, type-breathe-type, type, type-breathe again! Vary the topics of your articles. Your sponsor will more than likely makes suggestions. They may want to know what inspired you to write. Others may want you to discuss specifics about your book. Take their lead, but if they leave the topic up to you, one idea source is to review some of your previous interview questions. Maybe there’s one that is particularly thought provoking that you would like to expand on. Check your work. Don’t expect your sponsor to proofread or edit your work and don’t expect them to post an article that is riddled with typos.

8. When you e-mail your article to the website owner, be sure to remind him or her of your purpose, the name of your article, the agreed date to post the article and which blog to post it in if they have multiple blogs.

9. If time permits, check what other authors are doing to attract readers to their tour. Some offer to draw names of those commenting on the tour posts for a free autographed copy of their book. This is just one example.

10. Create an events page on your website and post the tour schedule and links. Join a site such as http://www.booktour.com/ (mention my name if you join, please!). Book Tour is a super easy site to work with and it has a nice, clean look. It allows you to link to your website and book trailer (if you have one). There may be others, but this one has some other nice features such as allowing visitors to send reminders of the tour dates to their e-mails or websites.

11. A few days to a week before the tour, prepare another standard announcement to post on the various websites you belong to. This time, list the details of your tour and/or the links to the sites that lists your schedule.

12. Two-three days before each event, contact your sponsors and remind him or her to post your blog. This is also a good time to send out private e-mails to everyone listed in your address book to remind them of the tour. Be sure to ask them to post comments on your blogs and to forward your e-mail to a friend or two.

13. Once your article or interview has been published, check your posts for comments and be sure to type a response to each.

14. After each article has been published on the host site for the day, post it on your own website and/or blog. This way, your article will appear on the search engines via the host site as well as yours and your work will be available in one convenient place for visitors to read.

Step 3:

You will instinctively want to measure your success in sales, but sales aren’t the only measuring stick of success. My tour attracted the attention of critical reviewers, additional interview opportunities, a screenplay writer, and invitations to write for other sites which translates into credibility and more exposure. For me, a new author, the experience and contacts proved to be invaluable.

Step 4:

Nothing will get you an invitation to post on a site again like a heart-felt thank you. Your sponsor will appreciate it as much as a reciprocal offer from you to return the favor.

All the articles and interviews from my August 2007 Virtual Book Tour are available in the August 2007 archives of my blog, http://mstephens-musings.blogspot.com/2007_08_01_archive.html

Good luck and have fun setting up your virtual book tour.

© Marta Stephens 2008
All Rights Reserved

Marta Stephens is a native of Buenos Aires Argentina but a resident of the United States since the age of four. She began her career as a fiction writer in 2003. The desire to journal her thoughts evolved into a life-changing passion that has led to the birth of her Sam Harper Crime Mysteries and her debut novel, Silenced Cry. She also has several short stories and flash fictions to her credit.

Stephens lives in the Midwest with her husband, daughter, son, and their three very spoiled Boston Bull Dogs. She has a degree in Journalism/Public Relations from Ball State University, is a member of Sisters in Crime International, Sisters in Crime Speed City Indiana Chapter, Deadly Prose Critique Group, and the Midwest Writer’s Workshop.

Aside from her writing, Stephens has earned several awards in local competitions for her oil paintings, enjoys gardening, antique collecting, graphic design, and shared moments with friends and family.

Stephens co-designed the book cover for Silenced Cry with friend Scott Parkison (IN), created the book trailer, and designed this website. For Stephens, learning is a life-long adventure.

What’s next? Book two in the Sam Harper Crime Mystery Series is in the works. Look for it in paperback and eBook formats in late 2008.

One of the easiest, cost effective, and most immediate forms of communication, of course, is e-mail. Build a mailing list of friends, family, and referrals. When you have a book signing, ask those who buy your book to sign a guest book and provide you with an e-mail address for updates about your writing. Send out periodic announcements to your fans about signings, contests, appearances, and other milestones in your writing career. Make it personal by maintaining a land mailing address list and mail out signed postcards announcing the launch and pertinent information about your new book. You’ll be out of the cost of printing and postage but the returns can be magical.

Author/reader groups and forums. Word of mouth is still the number one best way to sell your book even if “word of mouth” takes on a different form of communication. The Internet is overflowing with groups that bring authors and readers together. Don’t limit yourself to one or two groups. Social networks, forums, critique groups, and professional writers’ groups are key to today’s Internet marking. Many sites will allow members to create a profile page that offers the capability to post book covers, the author’s photographs, bios, book trailers, and blogs. Some groups also include forums for the exchange of information and ideas. They’re a great way to meet others who have similar interests and will often lead many positive connections.

The interactions we have with one another are the cornerstones of relationships. Therefore, the key to success in these groups is to give as much as you receive. Make it a point to respond not only to the messages posted on your page, but get in the habit of interacting with the other members via their posts. Get involved in group discussions whether they are related to writing/publishing or not. Few authors have the luxury of writing full-time which means they work outside the home and often are highly skilled in other areas of expertise. Share your know-how, when applicable, with others. Members will support fellow members they have come to know. I belong to a number of author/reader groups and have found each through links that members from other sites have shared or invited me into. In return, I invite them into my groups and also pay it forward. Eventually your base of contacts will grow into a wonderfully diverse set of cyber friends. After a while, you’ll start seeing familiar faces at the different sites who by now have met new contacts for you to contact.

One argument against social networks is the amount of time required to keep active; some can be quite demanding of your time and expect you to post on a regular basis. Blogs and forums can become addictive if you let them. Let’s face it, if you’re blogging, you’re not writing. Fortunately, you’re in control of your time, right? Allow yourself say, 20-30 minutes a day to visit a select group of sites. If you don’t make it into all of the groups, visit the next set of groups the following days, but don’t exceed your allotted time on the blogs. Review the posts, respond to those you are interested in, certainly support the member who have been supportive of you, and get out. Set your e-mail preferences to daily or weekly digest which will only send out one e-mail listing that day’s or week’s activity for you to select from and read.

Join a professional writers’ organization. Organizations are as varied as there are genres; Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Romance Writers of America are just a few. This link lists several groups: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art10679.asp.

Some membership fees are hefty and carry a minimum criterion for acceptance into the group. Do your homework and see which one best fits your needs. The advantages of a membership in a professional writers’ organization are that:

1) active participation in a professional group, reflects the level of time and financial commitment an author is willing to make in his or her writing career.

2) these organizations provides support for authors by promoting the author’s work to the membership and others in the publishing business, provide a networking system, announce upcoming events, contests, and other opportunities, and pass on valuable information about current publishing trends to the members.

3) Conferences are another great way to connect with others in the publishing business as well as readers. If you are fortunate enough to be invited to speak on a panel and/or have a book signing, make sure you have ample bookmarks to pass out that include your website and e-mail information along with a picture of your book cover and blurb. The costs of some events can be prohibiting. Plan ahead and select one or two key conferences per year to make those critical connections.

Send press releases to the major newspapers and radio stations in your state and ask for an interview – not a review. Most newspapers no longer write book reviews. Follow up with a phone call to the appropriate editor to make sure he or she received it and to check if additional information is needed.  Continue to focus your marketing to posting articles in high traffic blogs. Journalists often go to web sites to find their next story. Here are some useful links:

http://newslink.org/statnews.html
http://www.free-press-release.com
http://www.pressbox.co.uk
http://www.i-newswire.com
http://www.pr9.net
http://www.pr-inside.com
http://www.newswire.ca/

Create a blog on Amazon and take advantage of all the features Amazon offers to help get your book in front of readers. One important feature is the tags that the author may type in to help readers in their search. Shoot for a minimum of 60 – the more the better.

Set up a Google Alert. This is a free feature through Google that will e-mail the author when someone does a search by the key words the author has stipulated (i.e.: book title, author’s name, genre, etc.). It’s best to create very specific key words otherwise, let’s say you key in the word “romance,” you will receive an e-mail every time someone searches on that word.

A questionable promotional tool is the flyer. Choose your target audience carefully. If the intend is to mail flyers to bookstore owners, be sure to include a picture of the book cover, author’s picture, bio, book blurb, publisher, ISBN, cost, distributors, and author and publisher contact information. These are most effective if sent to local bookstores owners who know you and will be more inclined respond to your mailing. The chances for a response from bookstores who are not familiar with you or your work outside your immediate area, diminishes drastically. Mailing lists can be purchased. Read the fine print for the minimum number available and the cost. These can run up a tidy bill of thousands of dollars without a guaranteed return in sales. This expense is in addition to  the cost of printing and postage. I acquired a list of mystery bookstores located in the US and Canada through a writer’s organization. Although the list was free to members, most of the 200-300 envelops were returned marked undeliverable. Live and learn.

The use e-mail address will give the sender immediate notification if the address is invalid. Although this method will eliminate costly printing and postage expenses, it still doesn’t offer a guaranteed response. Unsolicited mails might be considered spam and automatically deleted. My suggestions on the use of flyers is to do the homework and proceed with caution.

© Marta Stephens 2008
All Rights Reserved

Marta Stephens is a native of Buenos Aires Argentina but a resident of the United States since the age of four. She began her career as a fiction writer in 2003. The desire to journal her thoughts evolved into a life-changing passion that has led to the birth of her Sam Harper Crime Mysteries and her debut novel, Silenced Cry. She also has several short stories and flash fictions to her credit.

Stephens lives in the Midwest with her husband, daughter, son, and their three very spoiled Boston Bull Dogs. She has a degree in Journalism/Public Relations from Ball State University, is a member of Sisters in Crime International, Sisters in Crime Speed City Indiana Chapter, Deadly Prose Critique Group, and the Midwest Writer’s Workshop.

Aside from her writing, Stephens has earned several awards in local competitions for her oil paintings, enjoys gardening, antique collecting, graphic design, and shared moments with friends and family.

Stephens co-designed the book cover for Silenced Cry with friend Scott Parkison (IN), created the book trailer, and designed this website. For Stephens, learning is a life-long adventure.

What’s next? Book two in the Sam Harper Crime Mystery Series is in the works. Look for it in paperback and  eBook formats in late 2008.

An effective book trailer will stimulate viewers through pictures, text, color, and music.

Don’t try to fit the book blurb into the trailer. Consider the recent movie trailers you’ve watched. They only hit on the key points of the film, not every detail of the action. Highlight the major plot twists without giving the story away. Another reason to avoid lengthy narratives is that viewers want to watch the trailer, not read long sentences. Use 2-3 key words per frame tops. A 90-second trailer can have anywhere from 18-21 frames depending on the viewing length of each frame or how long each frame will remain on the screen. Decide on key words or phrases that will peak the viewer’s interest. Make every frame count with appropriate, thought-provoking photographs or other images. Choose color(s) that reflect the mood of your book and use it as a theme that ties it all together along with an appropriate piece of music.

Pacing is a crucial component of matching the images and text to the music. Just as the writer uses pace to slow down the action or build suspense, the tempo of the music should be used in the same manner. The right combination can spark an emotional reaction from the viewer which is the goal of any such promotional tool and will hopefully trigger the impulse to buy the book.

Possibly the hardest part of creating a book trailer is timing – make sure every frame fits the music within 90 seconds or less. Be sure you use only copyright/royalty free photographs and music. Here is one site to find free downloadable photographs http://www.sxc.hu/home. There are similar sites for music too.

Of course you could pay to have a book trailer created, but Microsoft Word has a feature called Movie Maker that works just fine for those who are interested creating one themselves. Once the trailer is done, save it to the web using one of the servers that supports Movie Maker. Mydeo is one of them and costs less than $3 a month for unlimited viewing. Once completed, the book trailer can be downloaded onto your website and any number of websites sites that allow authors to download videos, such as, NING Groups, Gather, Myspace, your personal blog(s), Youtube, and Google. Add a link to your signature line on e-mails, etc. It’s another great promotional tool to save on a CD to include with your media kits.

© Marta Stephens 2008
All Rights Reserved

marta stevensMarta Stephens is a native of Buenos Aires Argentina but a resident of the United States since the age of four. She began her career as a fiction writer in 2003. The desire to journal her thoughts evolved into a life-changing passion that has led to the birth of her Sam Harper Crime Mysteries and her debut novel, Silenced Cry. She also has several short stories and flash fictions to her credit.

Stephens lives in the Midwest with her husband, daughter, son, and their three very spoiled Boston Bull Dogs. She has a degree in Journalism/Public Relations from Ball State University, is a member of Sisters in Crime International, Sisters in Crime Speed City Indiana Chapter, Deadly Prose Critique Group, and the Midwest Writer’s Workshop.

Aside from her writing, Stephens has earned several awards in local competitions for her oil paintings, enjoys gardening, antique collecting, graphic design, and shared moments with friends and family.

Stephens co-designed the book cover for Silenced Cry with friend Scott Parkison (IN), created the book trailer, and designed this website. For Stephens, learning is a life-long adventure.

What’s next? Book two in the Sam Harper Crime Mystery Series is in the works. Look for it in paperback and eBook formats in late 2008.

Don’t try to fit the book blurb into the trailer. Consider the recent movie trailers you’ve watched. They only hit on the key points of the film, not every detail of the action. Highlight the major plot twists without giving the story away. Another reason to avoid lengthy narratives is that viewers want to watch the trailer, not read long sentences. Use 2-3 key words per frame tops. A 90-second trailer can have anywhere from 18-21 frames depending on the viewing length of each frame or how long each frame will remain on the screen. Decide on key words or phrases that will peak the viewer’s interest. Make every frame count with appropriate, thought-provoking photographs or other images. Choose color(s) that reflect the mood of your book and use it as a theme that ties it all together along with an appropriate piece of music.

Pacing is a crucial component of matching the images and text to the music. Just as the writer uses pace to slow down the action or build suspense, the tempo of the music should be used in the same manner. The right combination can spark an emotional reaction from the viewer which is the goal of any such promotional tool and will hopefully trigger the impulse to buy the book.

Possibly the hardest part of creating a book trailer is timing – make sure every frame fits the music within 90 seconds or less. Be sure you use only copyright/royalty free photographs and music. Here is one site to find free downloadable photographs http://www.sxc.hu/home. There are similar sites for music too.

Of course you could pay to have a book trailer created, but Microsoft Word has a feature called Movie Maker that works just fine for those who are interested creating one themselves. Once the trailer is done, save it to the web using one of the servers that supports Movie Maker. Mydeo is one of them and costs less than $3 a month for unlimited viewing. Once completed, the book trailer can be downloaded onto your website and any number of websites sites that allow authors to download videos, such as, NING Groups, Gather, Myspace, your personal blog(s), Youtube, and Google. Add a link to your signature line on e-mails, etc. It’s another great promotional tool to save on a CD to include with your media kits.

© Marta Stephens 2008
All Rights Reserved

marta stevensMarta Stephens is a native of Buenos Aires Argentina but a resident of the United States since the age of four. She began her career as a fiction writer in 2003. The desire to journal her thoughts evolved into a life-changing passion that has led to the birth of her Sam Harper Crime Mysteries and her debut novel, Silenced Cry. She also has several short stories and flash fictions to her credit.

Stephens lives in the Midwest with her husband, daughter, son, and their three very spoiled Boston Bull Dogs. She has a degree in Journalism/Public Relations from Ball State University, is a member of Sisters in Crime International, Sisters in Crime Speed City Indiana Chapter, Deadly Prose Critique Group, and the Midwest Writer’s Workshop.

Aside from her writing, Stephens has earned several awards in local competitions for her oil paintings, enjoys gardening, antique collecting, graphic design, and shared moments with friends and family.

Stephens co-designed the book cover for Silenced Cry with friend Scott Parkison (IN), created the book trailer, and designed this website. For Stephens, learning is a life-long adventure.

What’s next? Book two in the Sam Harper Crime Mystery Series is in the works. Look for it in paperback and eBook formats in late 2008.

Don’t try to fit the book blurb into the trailer. Consider the recent movie trailers you’ve watched. They only hit on the key points of the film, not every detail of the action. Highlight the major plot twists without giving the story away. Another reason to avoid lengthy narratives is that viewers want to watch the trailer, not read long sentences. Use 2-3 key words per frame tops. A 90-second trailer can have anywhere from 18-21 frames depending on the viewing length of each frame or how long each frame will remain on the screen. Decide on key words or phrases that will peak the viewer’s interest. Make every frame count with appropriate, thought-provoking photographs or other images. Choose color(s) that reflect the mood of your book and use it as a theme that ties it all together along with an appropriate piece of music.

Pacing is a crucial component of matching the images and text to the music. Just as the writer uses pace to slow down the action or build suspense, the tempo of the music should be used in the same manner. The right combination can spark an emotional reaction from the viewer which is the goal of any such promotional tool and will hopefully trigger the impulse to buy the book.

Possibly the hardest part of creating a book trailer is timing – make sure every frame fits the music within 90 seconds or less. Be sure you use only copyright/royalty free photographs and music. Here is one site to find free downloadable photographs http://www.sxc.hu/home. There are similar sites for music too.

Of course you could pay to have a book trailer created, but Microsoft Word has a feature called Movie Maker that works just fine for those who are interested creating one themselves. Once the trailer is done, save it to the web using one of the servers that supports Movie Maker. Mydeo is one of them and costs less than $3 a month for unlimited viewing. Once completed, the book trailer can be downloaded onto your website and any number of websites sites that allow authors to download videos, such as, NING Groups, Gather, Myspace, your personal blog(s), Youtube, and Google. Add a link to your signature line on e-mails, etc. It’s another great promotional tool to save on a CD to include with your media kits.

© Marta Stephens 2008
All Rights Reserved

Marta Stephens is a native of Buenos Aires Argentina but a resident of the United States since the age of four. She began her career as a fiction writer in 2003. The desire to journal her thoughts evolved into a life-changing passion that has led to the birth of her Sam Harper Crime Mysteries and her debut novel, Silenced Cry. She also has several short stories and flash fictions to her credit.

Stephens lives in the Midwest with her husband, daughter, son, and their three very spoiled Boston Bull Dogs. She has a degree in Journalism/Public Relations from Ball State University, is a member of Sisters in Crime International, Sisters in Crime Speed City Indiana Chapter, Deadly Prose Critique Group, and the Midwest Writer’s Workshop.

Aside from her writing, Stephens has earned several awards in local competitions for her oil paintings, enjoys gardening, antique collecting, graphic design, and shared moments with friends and family.

Stephens co-designed the book cover for Silenced Cry with friend Scott Parkison (IN), created the book trailer, and designed this website. For Stephens, learning is a life-long adventure.

What’s next? Book two in the Sam Harper Crime Mystery Series is in the works. Look for it in paperback and eBook formats in late 2008.

The first thing to consider is your domain name. It can be purchased ahead of time to make sure you are able to secure the name you want. Purchase a domain name that identifies you. Make it short and easy to remember and identifiable.

Web design: Websites don’t have to cost a lot of money; in fact there are several free programs available. Unfortunately, these have limited capabilities but they can be just as effective in drawing in attention if done correctly. If you don’t feel comfortable developing your site, it’s worth the money to have someone’s help or let them do it for you. Check with your local college or university. Students studying web design are on top of the latest techniques and would welcome the experience to put on their resume and extra cash and it will be easy on your pocketbook.

You’ll want a site that looks clean and professional. Consider the layout. Will you display your menu across the top or on either margin? How many columns will you require? Whatever style you choose, you must use it throughout the site for visual consistency. Use only two easy to read fonts such as Arial, Times New Roman, or Verdana. Use the same font, font size, and color throughout the site for your text. The second font can be used for all the page titles and menu options.

Select an appropriate color scheme that reflects your writing. Develop a theme and run it through the entire site. Avoid using flashing or distracting images/borders/ or loud music that will divert the visitor’s attention from your writing. Nothing will turn viewers away faster than a site that is hard on the eyes and ears. Select the pictures you plan to use on your site and make sure they’re saved as JPGs.

Once you have decided on the layout and scheme, you’re ready to enter the information and start building your website. What should you include? A good start will include your book cover, author photo, bio, excerpt, reviews, events, book trailer, and reader comments. Additional pages can always be added as ideas come to you.

Choosing a server. The selection is endless and their services vary as much as the costs. Again, if you don’t know what to purchase, ask someone you trust to help you. Start with an economy plan that allows you to secure the site and your domain name for a year or two. It is feasible to obtain all a basis start up services for under $100. Initially you won’t need the amount of space the larger options offer. You’ll want to purchase the least expensive offer available to track traffic to your site. Take advantage of every free feature your server offers to help keep your site visible.

Once you have built and launched the site, you need to draw readers to it. Insert as many tags (key words) as possible within the code section of your site and install a web crawler to make your site accessible on search engines such as Google. Include your URL on EVERYTHING, e-mail signature lines, bookmarks, letterhead, blog signatures, articles, bios, flyers, post cards, etc. Cross promote your site. Set up a section on your site to list other authors’ links in return for them listing your link on theirs. Update your site and blog on a regular basis–at least once or twice a week, the more the better. Then promote that new article or feature on your blog posts.

Check to see what type of traffic information is available from your server. My server allows me to generate all types of reports. One report shows me a list of “referrals.” This indicates to me where readers are finding the link to my website. Let’s say if you click on my website from ABC authors’ forum, the report will show the name of that forum. Why’s that important? Because it shows which sites are active and that its members are interested. Therefore, those are the sites in which I’m going to continue to promote my work.

To give you an idea of the type of information I have available, from the day I launched my site on March 12, 2007 through January 11, 2008 (reports are always a day behind) my web’s stats reflect:

9,040 visitors
7,184 unique visitors (new)
16,808 pages viewed
30,541 hits
Viewed by visitors from 82 countries
The home page was viewed 3,313 times, average time 00:49, 1.35% of stay

The posting of last week’s article, “The Public Author,” generated 335 of the above visitors within seven days. The key is to not only continue to post and blog, but make sure your posts and articles lead the readers back to your website.

Other things to remember:

- It’s not enough to get people to land on your site, make it entertaining; make it interactive. When you plan your site, consider creating 5-10 pages and as stated earlier, make sure each page includes links to all the others pages on your site so visitors don’t get “stuck” on one page and leave.

- There are a few key words to remember as your site evolves and you have more to offer visitors. One is “Sign-up.” Do you have a newsletter? Even if it’s free, make it worth the visitor’s time to sign-up on the first visit or you may lose them. A newsletter will be a constant reminder about you, your site, and your book.

- Don’t be shy about asking people to “Buy.” Set up a separate page with the links to all the online bookstores that sell your book. If your book is available on Amazon, sign up with Amazon Associates (free) and place their logo on your site. It will take the visitor directly to your page on Amazon and if you have enough referrals from your site, you could earn a small referral fee.

- Do you have anything “Free” to offer like bookmarks, signed nameplates, or other products promoting your book(s)? Who doesn’t like getting something for nothing?

One final word; have fun designing your website. But remember it’s your first step toward obtaining an Internet presence. Get them there and get them to stay!

© Marta Stephens 2008
All Rights Reserved

Marta Stephens is a native of Buenos Aires Argentina but a resident of the United States since the age of four. She began her career as a fiction writer in 2003. The desire to journal her thoughts evolved into a life-changing passion that has led to the birth of her Sam Harper Crime Mysteries and her debut novel, Silenced Cry. She also has several short stories and flash fictions to her credit.

Stephens lives in the Midwest with her husband, daughter, son, and their three very spoiled Boston Bull Dogs. She has a degree in Journalism/Public Relations from Ball State University, is a member of Sisters in Crime International, Sisters in Crime Speed City Indiana Chapter, Deadly Prose Critique Group, and the Midwest Writer’s Workshop.

Aside from her writing, Stephens has earned several awards in local competitions for her oil paintings, enjoys gardening, antique collecting, graphic design, and shared moments with friends and family.

Stephens co-designed the book cover for Silenced Cry with friend Scott Parkison (IN), created the book trailer, and designed this website. For Stephens, learning is a life-long adventure.

What’s next? Book two in the Sam Harper Crime Mystery Series is in the works. Look for it in paperback and eBook formats in late 2008.

1) That inner circle is you. It’s who you are and what you know. It also includes your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Anyone you come in contact with on a regular basis.

2) The next circle includes potential readers within your community who you may know, but who you’re not in regular contact with or those who don’t know about you or your book. The hometown advantage is on your side though. With word of mouth endorsements from those within your inner circle, some local press about your book, and book signings or other events, you have a good chance to reach a portion of the population.

3) The third circle from the center includes individuals you have contact with on a professional basis. These are more than likely other authors; members of author groups and organizations where you promote on a regular basis.

4) The fourth circle includes people who have bought your book.

5) Number five are potential readers in a global market. That’s your goal — to take your promotional campaign from your inner circle to the outer circle. The only way to get there is by having an Internet presence. It will draw readers, but more important, the publishing world demands it. The good news is that the Internet provides authors with unlimited ways to promote their books and most offer free or low cost options.

Aside from writing a heart-stopping novel, the single most important thing authors need to master is Internet marketing and promotions of their book. I’ve read numerous articles that state one of the first things an agent or publisher will do is Google the author’s name. If they can’t find the author on the Internet, they assume the author isn’t savvy enough to help market their book(s) or worse, won’t and thus they may move on to the next manuscript. From a publisher’s point of view, the cost of production is too high to take a chance on someone who won’t do their part.

Not everyone is born to be a salesperson. Whether on the Internet or in person, how an author breaks out of his or her shyness will of course depend on their comfort level. But at some point the author will need to break out of that shell. I spoke with several authors who hate book signings because they don’t want to appear to be pushy and fear rejection. That’s understandable if you have never been in the public eye before, but this is what you’ve been working toward. Public recognition. When you and your book are on display, that’s your name on the cover and your heart and soul between the pages. Who better to sell it than you? If you love what you do it will show and your enthusiasm will spark a desire and spread like wildfire. Whether your publishing goal is to reach that small target audience within the two inner circles of your bull’s eye or to connect with a global market, you must make yourself accessible to the public in order to sell books.

In my numerous conversations with aspiring authors, I found two misconceptions:

1) The publisher will handle all the promotion. Campaigns will vary from one publisher to another, but regardless of the size of the publishing house, the bulk of the responsibility will fall squarely on the author’s shoulders.

2) If I launch a website, people will rush to view it and buy the book. Wrong! The website is only the beginning. One author told me that he has a site but doesn’t do anything else on the web preferring to do speaking engagements at local bookstores, libraries, etc. The local events are not to be dismissed, but if that is an author’s sole marketing campaign, they limit their potential sales considerably.

First, let’s take a look at what you can expect from a publisher. The narrowest definition of the role of a publisher is that they make information available for public view.

A publisher will in most cases assign an editor to work with the author and provide copyediting, graphic design, and will initiate production – printing. In some cases the publisher will make the book available in print and in electronic media. They will also secure the legal rights of the author and purchase the ISBN.

Several months before a novel is released the publisher will send out advanced review copies (ARC) and will continue to submit the book for reviews throughout the contracted period of time. Most publishers will spotlight their authors on their website, they may promote their books at key events that attracted book sellers, will submit the books to writing contests, and will make them available to the public via online bookstores such as Amazon, Barnes & Nobel, and Books-A-Million. The publisher may also sell the international rights to the book (have the book translated) and assist with film rights if it comes to that.

Let’s say you are a couple of months from launch date. The ARCs were sent and some reviews are coming in. Like it or not, you and your book are now public property. Reviewers will dissect your work and tell the world everything they love and hate about it. One reviewer will love your characters while another may feel they’re not well-developed. Don’t let their comments deter you from your goal. Use the glowing reviews in your marketing campaign. Quote them on all your written materials which you are now developing and will have ready before the launch. Printed materials should include; press releases, postcards, flyers, and bookmarks. Now is a good time to also get your mailing list of media contacts and others within your inner circle organized. Next, contact local bookstore owners for a commitment on a book signing. If they agree, ask them if they would like to have the launch party at their store!

© Marta Stephens 2008
All Rights Reserved

Marta Stephens is a native of Buenos Aires Argentina but a resident of the United States since the age of four. She began her career as a fiction writer in 2003. The desire to journal her thoughts evolved into a life-changing passion that has led to the birth of her Sam Harper Crime Mysteries and her debut novel, Silenced Cry. She also has several short stories and flash fictions to her credit.

Stephens lives in the Midwest with her husband, daughter, son, and their three very spoiled Boston Bull Dogs. She has a degree in Journalism/Public Relations from Ball State University, is a member of Sisters in Crime International, Sisters in Crime Speed City Indiana Chapter, Deadly Prose Critique Group, and the Midwest Writer’s Workshop.

Aside from her writing, Stephens has earned several awards in local competitions for her oil paintings, enjoys gardening, antique collecting, graphic design, and shared moments with friends and family.

Stephens co-designed the book cover for Silenced Cry with friend Scott Parkison (IN), created the book trailer, and designed this website. For Stephens, learning is a life-long adventure.

What’s next? Book two in the Sam Harper Crime Mystery Series is in the works. Look for it in paperback and eBook formats in late 2008.

AmazonConnect gives artist blogs prime placement on the site by:

• Showcasing the three most recent posts by an artist on each of their product pages, directly below the Product Details.
• Surfacing an artist’s posts on their customers’ Amazon Daily.
• Posting every message an artist writes to their AmazonConnect blog.
• Featuring a link to the artist’s profile page in a comprehensive AmazonConnect Directory (www.amazon.com/amazonconnect).

To sign up, you will need an Amazon.com customer account. When you create your profile page, any customer information associated with your existing account will be surfaced, including reviews, wish lists, registries, etc. If you already have an account, you may want to consider opening a new customer account unique to this program.

If you already have a blog outside of Amazon, you can use RSS to surface your existing blog directly to your Amazon customers via AmazonConnect. Learn more about RSS.

Details of the Sign Up Process

	Become an AmazonConnect artist.

To register you for AmazonConnect, we need to verify your e-mail address and your body of work. This verification process enables us to protect our artists and customers. First, we connect you as an artist with your Amazon.com customer account by verifying your e-mail address. Then, we verify with a trusted third-party that you are an artist whose work is for sale on Amazon.com.

Step 1: Verify Your E-mail Address

To sign up, you will need an Amazon.com customer account. When you create your profile page, any customer information associated with your existing account will be surfaced, including reviews, wish lists, registries, etc. If you already have an account, you may want to consider opening a new customer account unique to this program. Create a new account or click the ‘Sign up now’ button to begin the AmazonConnect registration process.

We will send an e-mail to the address you register with for AmazonConnect. Simply open the e-mail and click on the link provided.

Step 2: Choose a Name

Select the name that will appear with all your posted messages. This name is usually the one you use in your work. The name you list here is the one we will list in the AmazonConnect Directory.

Step 3: Register Your Titles

Register your titles and provide us with a trusted third-party contact responsible for verifying your work. You will be asked to provide the verifier’s name, company, e-mail address and phone number.

After you submit your verifier information, an Amazon.com representative will contact your verifier directly to confirm your association with the titles you registered. Upon confirmation of your work you will be officially enrolled in AmazonConnect and have the ability to start communicating directly with your customers.

Step 4: Complete Your Registration

Do you already have a blog outside of Amazon? Use RSS to surface your existing blog directly to your Amazon customers. These posts will show up in your AmazonConnect blog, on your product pages, and on your customers’ Amazon.com home pages.

How do I enroll my titles in the Search Inside! program?

Click the Sign Up link on our Search Inside! page and fill out the requested information. You must be the rights holder (including copyright and marketing and promotional rights) of all the titles you submit.

What will I need to provide?

There are two ways to submit Search Inside! content.  You can send a physical finished copy of each approved book to an address that we’ll provide to you or you can upload an electronic copy of each approved book.

I’ve filled out the online form. Now how do I submit books?

Once you’ve signed the Participation Agreement online and submitted the list of titles you wish to provide, you’ll receive an e-mail with further instructions for submitting physical copies of your title.

Note: You must fill out the online form and agree to the terms of the program Participation Agreement before you ship any books. Books that are shipped that we have not received permission for in advance will not be included in the program.

How do I submit books electronically?

You can upload electronic versions of your approved titles directly to Amazon.com.  After you have signed up using the Sign Up link on our Search Inside! Help page, send us an e-mail to have an upload account created for you.

Note: You must fill out the online form and agree to the terms of the program Participation Agreement before we can create an upload account.

Once I submit my books, how long will it take until they appear on the Web site?

We try to add all new books to the Search Inside! program as quickly as possible. Typically, it takes six to eight weeks from when we receive a physical book until it appears on Amazon.com.  Electronic submissions will typically appear on Amazon.com within three to five weeks of upload.

Do I need to send both a hardback and paperback version of the same book?

No, you need only to send the hardback edition.

Can I request that specific pages of a book be restricted from displaying on the Web site?

Unfortunately, no. We cannot accommodate special requests.

What’s happened to the Look Inside the Book program?

The Look Inside the Book program has evolved into the new, improved Search Inside! program. We are no longer accepting submissions to the Look Inside the Book program.

What is Amazon Upgrade?

Amazon Upgrade is an exciting new digital initiative that will help you generate incremental revenue on your titles sold on Amazon.com.  For more information or to participate, please visit the Amazon Upgrade Help page.

With the Amazon Upgrade program, customers can view and search every page of the book, as well as add bookmarks, highlights, and notes to digital pages. They are also able to copy text from the book and print pages, within strict limits. Your content is not downloaded to a user’s computer. The content stays on our servers, and customers view each page using an Internet-connected computer and a web browser.

Here are some of the benefits to you of the Amazon Upgrade program:

• No extra cost to you; we use the content we have already digitized for Search Inside!
• Incremental revenue for you: customers must buy the physical book and then purchase access to Amazon Upgrade
• Great way to generate new revenue on frontlist, backlist, or even out of print titles. (The customer must have purchased the book back when it was in print, of course.)

If you are the rights holder (including copyright and marketing and promotional rights) and would like to participate in the Amazon Upgrade program, please send us an email.

Want to learn more about Amazon Upgrade? View the Customer FAQ, or read the Terms and Conditions.

For more information about the Search Inside! program, visit the Search Inside! Help page.