After a one-week hiatus, the Book Marketing Update is back!

This edition includes book marketing, publishing, and social media news. Plus, I included a post on Substack by Jane Friedman.

I hope you enjoy reading these posts and that they help you on your publishing journey.

Book Marketing

How to Sell More Books Using TikTok with Lila Dubois and Jane Rylon – from Mark Dawson and James Blatch: “Is TikTok just another social media time suck? Jayne Rylon and Lila Dubois don’t think so. On this episode, they share where they think TikTok’s value lies and how authors can benefit from the early days of the platform.”

The Importance of the Book Pre-Order to Authors by John Briggs and from Ryan Lanz: “Enough pre-orders give a book a big boost on the best-seller list the week it officially becomes available.”

Publishing

Publishing Scammers are Proliferating like Tribbles: How to Stay Safe by Anne R. Allen: A great post on how to avoid publishing scammers.

Discovery Writing: Telling a Story Back-to-Front – with Patricia McLinn and from Self-Publishing Formula: “In this interview Patricia talks about the choices she made and how they served her, and has advice for upcoming writers about focusing on what matters.”

Substack

I Like Substack. But the PR Is Getting Ridiculous. by Jane Friedman: “I subscribe to more than 50 Substacks. I even pay for a handful. I think it’s a great platform and I recommend it often to clients. That’s not so much because I love Substack the company, but because I believe in email. “

Social Media

New Report Looks at Social Media Usage Trends Over the Past Decade, and Where Things are Now Headed from Social Media Today: Looking at trends and considering how they can improve your sales is always a worthwhile endeavor.

Instagram for Authors: Robin Kall’s Expert Tips from Lisa Tener: Learn how this author uses Instagram. Her tips are universal.

Instagram is Developing a New ‘Montage’ Feature to Convert Stories to Reels, New ‘Favorites’ Listing: Another post from Social Media Today about what’s new on Instagram.

I know I’ve said this before but there is a lot to love in this week’s Book Marketing Update.

From book marketing tips to Amazon tips to publishing tips … whoa! I continue to be amazed by all the information other authors share to help the greater publishing community to succeed.

Enjoy the tips below and the rest of your summer!

Book Marketing

When should you put a new cover on your book? by Jennifer Crosswhite and from Nessgraphica: “Every reader will see your book cover, and it plays a huge part in their decision to buy your book or not.”

How We Hit the USA Today Bestseller List with a Multi-Author Anthology: This is an interest post about a group of romance authors who collaborated on an anthology.

Some Unconventional Advice About How to Write the D*mn Blurb by Ruth Harris: “Your blurb (aka Production Description on Amazon) has one — and only one — purpose:  to make the reader an offer s/he can’t refuse.”

Publishing

3 Steps for a Great Small Press Experience by E. J. Wenstrom and from Elizabeth Craig: “The right small press can be an incredible way to get your books into readers’ hands! But it’s important to know what you’re looking for in a publisher, take steps to know who you’re getting into business with, and be an active partner in the process.”

The Ultimate Guide to Print Publishing Options for Indie Authors from Alliance of Independent Authors: This post reviews print publishing options for writers.

Book Sales

How to Make Six Figures Self-Publishing Children’s Books from Jane Friedman and by Darcy Pattison: If you write children’s literature, be sure to check out this post.

Amazon

Do You Need Keywords to Get Into Certain Book Categories? by Dave Chesson: This post outlines a recap of how Amazon’s categories used to work and new changs to the platform.

Quote of the Week

Hey, I’m Frances Caballo and I’m a social media expert for writers, building and managing author platforms to enhance book sales. A writer all of my life, I also provide content writing and email marketing services. If all you need is some training, I enjoy offering one-on-one training sessions as well. Of course, check out my free, email-based social media training course (you’ll get a free, 64-page Twitter ebook with it). Or, sign up for one of my social media audits to find out how you’re really doing.

I hope you enjoy this edition of the Book Marketing Update.

There are posts in nearly every category of an author’s life from publishing to book distribution to book marketing.

Enjoy today’s roundup and your last days of summer.

Book Marketing

Author Platform: Here’s What All the Fuss Is About from The Write Life: “The rise of the author platform as an industry obsession is a relatively new phenomenon. While industry folks may argue that platform has always mattered, today it’s more important than ever before.”

Publishing

Start Here: How to Self-Publish Your Book by Jane Friedman: “This is an introductory guide on how to self-publish and choose the right services or approach based on your needs and budget.”

Kindle Unlimited

How Do Kindle Unlimited Subscribers Behave In 2021 (And How Does it Impact Authors)?: “Kindle Unlimited has revolutionized the eBook experience for both readers and authors. In this post we take a closer look at the habits of KU readers compared to non-KU readers, and what that means for authors whose titles are enrolled in KU. We surveyed over 2,500 readers and analyzed the results to find out what the takeaways are for the author community.”

Book Distribution

The Value of Book Distribution Is Often Misunderstood by Authors by Jane Friedman: I don’t believe I’ve ever read a blog post on book distribution before. This one is excellent so I recommend that you read it.

Reading List for Authors

Writing, Publishing, and Business Books for Indie Authors from Alliance of Independent Authors: “Over in the AskALLi team, we thought we would collate a mid-year reading list for you ….”

Social Media News

Facebook Brings Reels to its Main App as it Seeks to Capitalize on the Short-Form Video Trend from Social Media Today: “As TikTok continues to gain momentum, Facebook continues to seek new ways to quell that growth, with its latest attempted pushback coming via Facebook Reels, which will enable users to create and share Instagram Reels within the main Facebook app.”

How To Get Real Followers For Instagram from Kicksta: This post includes an infographic with 12 tips.

Great Read

5 Tips for Authors When Negotiating their Author Agreements from Anne R. Allen and Ruth Harris and by Joseph Perry: “For authors who are given a book contract and may not have an agent or attorney, here are a few tips that may help you in negotiating against the publisher.”

Quote of the Week

The first blog post in this Book Marketing Update is about the newest buzz: A+ Content from Amazon.

When I first heard about it, I was skeptical. But I like what I’ve read so far and I include below a link to an explanation about this news from the Nonfiction Authors Association.

I also include below posts about audiobooks, email marketing, and publishing.

I hope you like this week’s edition and I especially hope you are enjoying your summer.

Book Marketing

How to Publish Charts, Images, and Custom Content on Your Amazon Book Page with A+ Content from Amazon from Nonfiction Authors Association: This is a how-to blog post for incorporating Amazon A+ Content on your book sales pages.

The Metaverse for Authors and Publishing. Web 3.0, VR, AR, and the Spatial Web from Joanna Penn: I can always count on Joanna Penn to point the way to innovations authors need to know about. Be sure to check out this post if you want to stay up-to-date on marketing strategies.

Email Marketing

Increase Your Email Open Rate with Preheaders from MailerLite: “The email preheader is the first line of text that appears next to the subject line in your recipient’s inbox. On mobile devices, your email preheader text is often more prominent than the subject line. And, good preheaders are proven to help boost your open rates!”

Audiobooks

Audiobooks: Your Guide to the Fastest Growing Format from Reedsy: The audiobook boom has taken the publishing industry by storm in recent years. In 2020, US audiobooks sales eclipsed eBook sales for the first time, reaching an impressive $1.2 billion, and the market is expected to reach $3.26 billion globally in the coming year. 

Publishing

Should You Publish Your Book with a Small Press? Two Literary Agents Advise from Jane Friedman and by Sangeta Mehta: “As Big Five publishers merge and the competition to land a book deal becomes increasingly fierce, small press publishing can seem like an ideal option for some writers.”

Worth Reading

Helping You Focus on Your Writing – with Dan Clark about @BrainfmAp and from Mark Dawson and James Blatch: “Every writer needs to find a way to spend focused time being creative. Brian.fm is a science-based app that uses sound and music to help artists and other creative people use the time they have to best effect.”

Quote of the Week