Thinking outside the box when it comes to book sales

Okay, as promised here's more about last Saturday's Digital Author's Conference. Another thing Elaine Wilkes talked about was developing a list of outside the box businesses to approach about placing our books. In my post conference emails with her, she suggested I write a list of fifty such places and I must say that is a tough assignment. I got this far: Magpie gift store Soothe the Soul gifts and aromatherapy University classes Speaking engagements UCLA Psych Department Other mental health organizations Book clubs LA Times Festival of Books Harmony Works gift store Things Remembered gift store Our House grief counseling organization Grieving and suicide prevention sites' recommended book lists But I'm going to continue. I need to start reading Elaine's material about how to get my book into all types of stores right away. Perhaps that will help me get to a list of fifty outside the box places. And I'd love your help as well. Where else do you sell your … [Read more...]

What makes a book sell?

I attended the Digital Author's Conference this past Saturday, sponsored by West Coast Writer's Conferences with special recognition and discounts to Greater Los Angeles Writer's Society members. Coincidentally, both are headed by Tony N. Todaro. Tony and his staff do a great job in getting interesting and informative speakers to their events. I found some of the information presented on Saturday so beneficial to my writing life I thought I'd share a little bit here. One was a mention of a blogger I recently started following (at the suggestion of Marketing the Muse's Marla Miller) Seth Godin. I have been marveling at how much meaningful information Seth can impart with just a few lines of short sentences, short paragraphs, and a lot of white space on the page. And Elaine Wilkes, Ph.D. who spoke about ways to place our books everywhere and how to write emails and books that get results said this is the kind of writing that is selling best right now: Short even one-line … [Read more...]