Thinking about what sells a book

Six+ years ago, in January, 2008, my first novel came out.

There was no twitter.

Facebook may have been around, I'm not sure, but most people I knew weren't on it yet.

MySpace was going strong, and I did have a page there and tried to connect with people. I know Lisa McMann was incredibly successful in connecting with teens there and getting them excited about her WAKE trilogy when it came out.

Book blogging was really starting to be a thing. I did connect with some book bloggers, but I'm 99% sure my first YA novel didn't have an official "tour" or anything.

Blogging was popular at the time. I had a blog over at livejournal (which still exists because so many comments from my friend Lisa, who passed away three years ago, are there, and I love them. I can't delete them. I just can't. It's like a part of her still exists there. Though I should probably delete it because holy crap, talk about over-sharing.) ANYWAY, a bunch of us who were writers followed each other and had a lot of fun within our tight-knit community. Most of us started our blogs before we were published. So our posts were about personal things or about our writing struggles or about the bumpy road to publication. I loved it. There was no promotion. Just bad news or good news and all the stuff in between. Until things changed. Until everyone started getting book deals.

Here are some things I remember regarding the YA market leading up to my first YA novel coming out.

* I clearly remember the buzz around TWILIGHT before and after it hit the shelves in 2005.

* I remember the buzz around Melissa Marr's WICKED LOVELY series, which sold in 2006, I believe (it came out in 2008).

* I remember reading LOOKING FOR ALASKA while on vacation at Sunriver in 2005. I loved it and I was so excited when it won the Printz in January, 2006. It didn't have a lot of buzz. I only knew about it because his editor was Julie Strauss-Gabel, and she was an editor I admired and kind of kept my eye on.

* I remember it was around the release of the second book of TWILIGHT that bookstores started making a space just for YA novels and moved them out of the children's section. Wow.

* I remember not having a clue as to what to do to promote my book (this is still mostly true, by the way). I joined the class of 2K8. I got a web site going. I kept blogging. And that was about it.

When I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME came out, I remember checking Amazon at one point and I was *shocked* the Amazon ranking was below 10,000. I could not believe it. Even though we don't really know what the numbers actually mean in terms of how many copies sold, I think most people know what's good, great, fantastic, bestseller territory, etc. Anything below 10,000 is good, especially for a debut author.

I'm not sure any of my other books, except for maybe one of my middle-grade novels, dropped down that low.

My editor came back from vacation toward the end of January, and when we talked on the phone, he said, "All I've heard since I've been back is how well I HEART YOU is selling."

I did very little promotion of the book. I didn't have any big name blurb. It got a couple of okay reviews, but nothing spectacular. But here are a couple of things that I believe helped it to sell:

1) The title and the concept combined with the amazing cover. You never know for sure what's going

image credit: morguefile.com

to work and it all just worked.

2) It was the kind of book people read and talked about. What is that kind of book, exactly? No one really knows. If we did, we'd all be writing it. I've said it before and I'll say it again - word of mouth is the BEST kind of marketing there is. If you love an author, talking about his/her books is the number one thing you can do to support that author. And for all of the people who have talked about my books over the years - thank you!!

Okay, one more thing helped it to sell.
3) Luck. Right place, right time, simple as that. I think sometimes we underestimate this element.

So, what other things help to sell books? Support from the publisher and bookstores, of course. Lead titles are at a huge advantage because of the push they get from the publisher. Nothing can beat that, really.

I've been thinking about all of this in regards to twitter and how it really varies as to how much authors tweet about their books. Some tweet very little. Others tweet all the time.

A year or two ago I asked on twitter if people got excited about a book release when an author was excited about a book release. A lot of people said yes. It made them excited when the author was excited. There were a few of us who kind of went - uh oh. Because for many of us, a book release is mostly anxiety producing, and it's hard to be excited when we sort of just want to crawl inside a hole. I've decided when there is something to be excited about, I need to not hold back. Be excited and let others see that, because people DO like to see genuine happiness/excitement.

But can there be too much, is the question I've been pondering? I tend to think yes.

Personally, I think the 80/20 rule is a good one to follow. That is - only about 20% of tweets or posts on facebook or instagram or wherever should be book/promotion-related. More than that, and you run the risk of being annoying. You also may look desperate. Those two things do not sell books.

The biggest change from the year 2008 to the year 2014 is not where people talk about books or how we connect with each other or any of that. No, the biggest change is how many more YA novels simply exist now. A LOT!!! It is much harder to get noticed in today's market. Of course, we also have a gazillion more books to choose from to read, which is pretty sweet, right?

A look at Goodreads ads (long)

I have to preface this post about my experience with a Goodreads advertisement by saying, I know a lot of authors don't like Goodreads. They don't like the mean-spirited reviews that are allowed, the bad language that's allowed, the sorting system that can put one of those horrible, mean-spirited reviews at the top because a bunch of people "like" it, and more.

And I get it. I do. There was huge thread about it on Verla's message board awhile back, and I know some authors have really strong feelings about Goodreads, and have encouraged other authors to leave the site to send a message to the people managing the site. If you are one of those authors, please don't be mad at me for supporting the site.

I guess my take on it is that anywhere that books can be reviewed, bad things can and will be said. It's the nature of the beast. I have read some terrible reviews on Amazon. Mean reviews. It's not just Goodreads where this happens.

I'm not saying I agree with it. And I'm certainly not saying I like negative reviews. Ugh, no, I am as sensitive as the next guy. Probably even more so.

But stepping back, and looking at it from a different perspective, Goodreads is a popular site with readers. And in my opinion, there are too few places for readers to gather and discuss books. And whether I like it or not, readers are there. And so, knowing that, I decided I wanted to try and reach some of them.

When THE DAY BEFORE came out, I spent $45.00 to run a small ad on the site. They call it a "campaign." I was curious if an ad on Goodreads would help get my book exposure it might not otherwise get, and I was willing to spend around fifty dollars as an experiment, of sorts. Now I'm going to share the results of that experiment with you.

When you set up a campaign, you decide how much you are willing to spend per click. Apparently the higher the amount of the click, the better your chances of getting your ad seen. I set the amount per click at 20 cents, which is on the lower end. I wanted a long life for my ad versus a ton of exposure for a short time. As you'll see in a minute, this amount got me plenty of visibility. You can also set a cap as to how much you spend per day. I think I set the amount at $2.00 per day, but now that I've done this, I know your chances of getting even a click or two per day are pretty small.

After you figure out the money part of your ad - how much you are willing to spend, how much you want your "per click" rate to be, etc., then it's time to figure out the targeting of your ad. I think this is HUGE, and I wonder how many authors err on the side of a wide audience. I didn't want a wide audience. I wanted a narrow one. I wanted my ad to target readers who would be most likely to like my book.

I left age blank, chose United States as the country, turned off "target specific genres" and selected about twenty YA authors to target. What does that mean? Let's say someone goes to the site to look up books by NYT bestselling author Jenny Han. Along the side, that person will see ads for books as she pokes around, reading reviews for Jenny Han's books or perhaps logging her own reviews. I decided I would like the ad for my book to be one that potentially shows up around that author. To make this feature work well, you want to think like a librarian. If a reader likes THESE books, she might also like THESE books. Where would your books fit well? If you write fantasy, think of other fantasy writers. If you write contemporary, probably want to target other contemporary authors. One of the best things about this strategy is I can list myself. That way, if someone goes to review another one of my books, hopefully they might see the ad and discover that I have a new book out.

Please know, the ad won't show up *every* time. My understanding is ads are rotated, trying to give everyone a share of the ad time. You have campaign stats you can see at any time on your author page if you set up an ad. You also get e-mails sent on a daily basis that show how many clicks your ad received that day, and how many times readers added your book. Because they may see the ad, not click on it, and still add the book.

For me, it wasn't about the clicks. It was about the cover of my book popping up for people to see. If they saw it enough, maybe they'd want to check out. It was all about exposure!

In November, the graph shows that sometimes my ad was shown 700 times, other days it was shown 2,500 times. The most clicks (that is, where someone clicks on the ad and goes to the goodreads page of that book to read more about the book and read reviews) was 5.

It's almost December, and I have just a few dollars left in my "campaign." Yes, that $45.00 lasted about six months. So now the question... was it worth it? I believe it was. Would I do it again? Absolutely. And here's why.

Right now, out of all my books, including I Heart You, You Haunt Me, which has been out for almost 4 years and was recently available through Scholastic book fairs and clubs, The Day Before has the highest number of people marking it as "to read." Of course I realize, marking a book "to read" doesn't mean a person will actually buy it or read it. In fact, most won't. To me it means, I'm thinking about it. I might like to pick it up at some point. Something about the book intrigues me enough to remember it.

Out of all the thousands of books, a reader has decided she wants to remember mine. I'll take that!!! Because maybe in the future, she'll see my book mentioned again, and this time she'll decide to act and pick up the book. Again, it's about exposure, and helping people to notice my book.

So let's look at my "to read" numbers for all of my YA novels.

Far From You: 1,831 people
Chasing Brooklyn: 3,697 people
I Heart You, You Haunt Me: 4,612 people
The Day Before: 6,359 people

But what about sales, Lisa? That's what you're thinking, right? We will never be able to know for certain how many books were sold because of an ad on Goodreads. I do know that almost 1,000 have "rated" the book (which, in my mind, means they read it). I think that's a decent number. Not phenomenal, mind you. Maybe not even great. But decent. Compare that to Far From You, which has been out for a couple of years and hasn't sold all that well, with only 919 ratings. And I Heart You, You Haunt Me, which has sold very well, has been out four years and is in its tenth printing, and has 3,555 ratings.

Sorry this got so long, but I hope you found some helpful information here, if you've been considering an ad on Goodreads. I certainly think it's worth a try, given that you can spend a small amount of money for quite a bit of exposure. I should also mention you can change the campaign at any time, if you decide you want to change the text of your ad, who you're targeting, the cost per click, etc. I actually changed the text of my ad after a couple of months, and I do think it helped get me more clicks.

Any questions you have for me about this - let me know in the comments and I'll try to answer them.

Two things every middle grade author should do

It can be hard to figure out where your money is best spent when it comes to promotional activities.

I did a checklist and timeline a year or two ago to help authors organize those activities. You can find that HERE.

But two things I've discovered over the past year I wanted to share here, in regards to middle grade novels.

First - a reading/discussion guide is one of the BEST things you can do for your book. I paid to have one done for It's Raining Cupcakes, because I wasn't sure what went into one and I wanted to make sure it was done well. For Sprinkles and Secrets, I decided to try and do one on my own. As I got into it, I found it wasn't really that hard, and I'm happy with how it turned out. Check with your publisher too - they may be willing to do one for you!

Because I'm using a web site that doesn't allow for documents to be uploaded, I state in a couple of different places on my site to drop me an e-mail and I'll send the document along that way.

I'm actually glad now that I did it this way, and here's why. When a teacher or parent or book club member e-mails me, I can reply with the document she's requested for AND ask if she'd like some signed bookmarks to give out at the meeting or event. They seem to really love that I do this.

(By the way, I get a lot of mother-daughter book clubs requesting my discussion guide. Do you know how happy this makes me? VERY happy!)

Which leads me to the second thing I think you should do if you're publishing a middle grade novel. Have bookmarks made! I can't find a digital copy of the ones I had done with both covers on the front, but here are the ones I had made before It's Raining Cupcakes came out.

Anytime someone e-mails you about the book, offer to send some. Especially if you've written a series - as soon as you have the cover for the second book, get bookmarks made with both books and send them to everyone you can. This way, they have a visual that lets them know there's a second book coming. (Make sure to list the release date of that second book too).

As far as where to get bookmarks made? I LOVE www.iconix.biz. Ask for Kelly - she's great!

Authors, it's really okay to keep your money

Some authors make a lot of money.

Some authors make an okay amount of money.

Some authors make very little money.

And sometimes I feel like there is a bit of pressure for the authors in the last two categories to act as if they are in the top category and spend all kinds of money they really don't have on promotional things. And I do not understand this.

It's kind of like the - how much time should I spend on social networking thing, except it's - how much money should I throw at all of these authorly things.

After doing this for a while, I think the answer is the same. You don't *have* to spend anything and it's perfectly okay, just like you don't *have* to spend time doing the social networking thing unless you want to.

In the end, how many books you sell is not dependent on how much you spent on your web site, how many fancy bookmarks you bought, how pretty your author photo is, how incredible your book trailer is, etc. How many books you sell is going to be dependent on what kind of push you get from your publisher, whether the book stores pick it up or not, whether it's the kind of book that gets people talking, and honestly, quite a bit of luck.

I commented on a thread on a message board recently where someone asked about web sites. I replied that I am currently using blogger for my site, because A) it's free and B) I can update it whenever I want to. So many people pointed the person asking the question to all of these awesome designers, and all of them cost money. Some of them a LOT OF MONEY.

We need to remember, not everyone has a lot of money to spend, and I wanted to speak up and show the person that I am one author who is keeping that $1000-$3000 I could spend on a web site to pay for my kid's braces, and I'm not going to go into debt just so I can have a site that makes people oooh and ahhh.

Do some people come to my site and go, eww, she's using blogger? Probably so. Do I believe that most kids/teens/parents/librarians/teachers coming to my site, who are the ones reading my books, really care? No, I don't.

When I built my site by myself, using blogger's tools, I kept in mind the things that are important to me when I'm going to someone else's site. I wanted the site to be clean, easy to navigate, and have the information at their fingertips that they were looking for. Do you know how many professional sites I've been to where I thought it was too busy or hard to find things or any number of things? A LOT! Professional doesn't always mean good.

I know some people have strong feelings about authors and what their web site looks like. Just like some people have strong feelings about book trailers. And some people have strong feelings about bookmarks. And some people have strong feelings about author photos.

In the perfect world, every author would have all kinds of money to spend on these things. But we don't live in a perfect world, and here is what I want really want to say on the subject, maybe for myself more than anyone.

If you don't have the money to spend on these things, (and I'm going to go out on a limb and say 85% of authors don't), then keep your hard earned money for yourself and please DO NOT FEEL BAD about that. Do the best with what you have. When you get your advance, come up with a budget for promotional things that is realistic for you and your family, and then stick to it by figuring out what is most important to you!

I got my author photos when a studio was having a sale. I waited patiently until it was something I could afford. Some authors have their spouse or friend take lots and lots and lots of photos with a digital camera until they have one that's good enough to use. Will the professional ones look better? Maybe. But isn't it true that we can always do better, that money can always BUY better?

It's the same with book trailers. Some people will say - don't do a book trailer unless you can do a REALLY incredible one with actors and a script and on and on. Well, I don't have that kind of money, so does that mean I shouldn't do one at all? I don't think so. I made mine myself, for free, and yeah, there are lots of trailers that are better, but does it matter? I did what I could and I shouldn't have to apologize for that. Because really, am I out to A) outdo most authors, or am I out to B) do what I can for my book without breaking the bank?

For me, the answer will always be B. It can be really easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing, and I just felt the need to post this today and say, if you are an author who is feeling pressured to spend, spend, spend to keep up with the Joneses who are around the corner on the internet, put the credit card down and get back to work writing the best book you can.

Like we've heard a million times already, but seem to need to be reminded from time to time, it's the writing that matters more than anything else.

Why "oh well" should become an author's favorite words

On the eve of the 3rd anniversary of my debut novel, I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME (I know. Three years? Really? Wow!) I've been thinking about the realities of being a published author. So, lucky you, you get to hear some of my rambling thoughts today.

Many writers pursue publication for years.

Years and years and years.

And when it finally happens, when a hard working writer finally gets the deal, he is ecstatic. Like, over-the-moon happy.

It's going to be a BOOK! A real, live, honest-to-goodness book that people can pull off of shelf, open the cover with his name on the *front cover*, and read. Yes, people will read the words he sweated and slaved over, trying to create a story that would move a reader, amaze a reader, and stay with a reader for a long, long time.

Cartwheels are done. Champagne is popped. Gratitude is expressed right and left, up and down for the opportunity to be published. It feels SO good!

But often, after weeks or months of dreaming about the book out in the world, the vision starts to shift. It's not just an imaginary shelf somewhere, it's a shelf in Barnes and Noble, and every single one of the independents across the country. The author may start to imagine the book face out on the "New Releases" shelf. Or, even better, "The Best of..." shelf.

The author starts to wonder about reviews. Will they be good? Will there be *stars* involved? If it's starred, lots and lots of libraries will pick it up. Awesome. Maybe it will make special lists, or maybe, even better, it will win awards! Awards? Oh my word, it could win awards!!!

Hope is abundant in those months leading up to the release. And it makes sense, doesn't it? Hope kept that hard-working writer going, year after year, despite the rejections that piled up. Hard-working writers live and *breathe* hope.

And then, the day comes. The book is out. And here is where, for too many authors, it all goes to hell. One or both of the chains pass, so when the author goes to find it in a bookstore, he can't. Furthermore, it only gets one or two reviews, and they are so-so. One of those might even be bad. Buzz around the internet is for other books who have a big publisher push behind them. And the author wonders, why? Not just one why, but a hundred whys. Why didn't the bookstores want to carry it? Why didn't my publisher want to market it better? Why didn't I get a book tour like other authors I've seen at my book store? Why, why, why?

The elation the writer felt when the champagne was popped has vanished, and in its place, the writer finds disappointment and feelings of failure.

The big question then becomes - what next.

In the months leading up to the release of I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME, I wrote like a crazy person. I had one novel ready to go and another novel started. The completed novel was rejected. That's the way it goes sometimes. But the other novel, what eventually became FAR FROM YOU, became the novel I worked on in those months immediately following the release of I HEART YOU.

Now, yes, I HEART YOU made it into bookstores. It got pretty good reviews (no stars though). It sold well, and in fact, much better than I think anyone expected. And sure, I was happy about that, of course. How could I not be? But I had let it go a long time ago, in case none of those things happened. I had mostly released it from my mind and my heart, wished it well, and moved on.

Now some will say, No, no way Lisa, you don't know what it's like. You can't relate. You haven't really been there.

But I can relate because none of my books have sold as well as that first book. FAR FROM YOU, my second novel, came out in December 2008, when it felt like the world was about to fall out from underneath us. When people were getting laid off right and left and it felt like a second Great Depression was imminent. Expectations were high for that book based on how well I HEART YOU did, and guess what? Books were returned to the warehouse in droves. And not because it was a bad book, but because that's just how it goes sometimes. Things happen, books don't sell, expectations aren't met.

Oh well.

Yes, you read that right - oh well! It's NOT the end of the world!! And it doesn't have to be the end of your career either. Really and truly, it doesn't.

Remember when you'd query agents and you'd get rejected and sure, you might take a couple of days to be sad over a particularly hard rejection, but eventually you'd say, "oh well," and you'd submit again? So why can't you use those words now, when your book isn't selling the way you'd hoped it would?

I think writers should celebrate the sale. Then, work damn hard on revisions and make it the absolute best book you can make it. And when you send those final pages back, and you've done everything you're going to do on it, you need to open Scrivener or Word, and start in on a new project. Or if you don't know what to write next, brainstorm ideas for a week until you have one.

You have to let the sold book go, and let it become what it's going to become. Release it, like a kite. It'll fly or it will fall, but it's out of your hands. And we *must* remember, every book is completely separate from the ones that became before it and the ones that will come after it. Even if you're writing a series, the success of one book doesn't guarantee the success of another one. AND, perhaps even more importantly, the failure of one book does NOT guarantee the failure of another one.

I have seen too many writers crushed after the first book didn't do well, and they're done. They walk away. And these are good writers! I suppose it's the flight or fight response. So you fought all of those years for publication and now, when factors completely out of your control affect the sales of the book, you're going to run away? Someone might argue, but isn't my career over at that point?

WHAT!? Says who?? If you write a book editors can't say no to, your career is not over! It's as simple as that. So if you want to be an author, sit down and write a book editors can't say no to!

Maybe, after the whole rotten experience, some people decide they don't want to be an author. And that's fine, if it's a conscious decision. Believe me, I understand, it's a tough business. But, if you love writing, if this IS what you want to be doing, shut out the noise of the publishing world, open up a document, and write.

You might say, but what about promotion? I have to be out there, promoting my book, I can't shut out the publishing world. Look, let's get real. I have seen authors promote 24/7 for months and months, and their books still didn't do well. You *sold* your book to a publisher. When you've finished writing the thing, your job is DONE. There is nothing else you *have* to do (unless your house sends you on tour or requires appearances of you, I suppose). And I'm sorry, but the promotion we do on our own isn't going to make a whole lot of difference anyway. If you're out there doing school visits and events like that, yes, it will probably make a difference. But skipping out on twitter because you need to write? Don't feel guilty about that.

Writers write. After each book, I kept writing. I kept moving forward. By the time the book was ready to be released, I had something else ready to go out, maybe even already sold.

I guess I want to close by saying - if you've published a novel, regardless of how well it did, be proud of yourself! You have accomplished something that about 97% of the US population dreams of doing. It's no small thing!

And remember how you dreamed of someone pulling it off the shelf, with your name on the cover, and reading it, and just *that* image made you incredibly happy? Well, that happened. Some people read your book. Maybe not as many people as you had hoped, but it's a BOOK, and you've been read! *You* are an author. And everything else that didn't happen?

OH WELL.

And I bet at least a hundred people reading this post will think to themselves, I would be SO happy if that happened to me. (And then I ask, really? You really think so? Are you sure, if only *that* happened?). Ha!

A bookish observation

If a book really appeals to me when I hear what it's about, I will want to read it.

If a book somewhat appeals to me when I hear about it, but I'm not really sure, I probably won't want to read it.

BUT, if that same book that somewhat appeals to me gets lots of GREAT reviews, OR lots of people are talking about it, saying how great it is, then I will want to read it.

If a book that somewhat appeals to me is talked about all the time by the *author* versus other people, I probably won't want to read it.

If a book doesn't really appeal to me when I hear about it, I won't want to read it.

And no matter how much people are talking about the book that doesn't really appeal to me, and no matter how much the author talks about and/or promotes the book, I still won't want to read it.

Finally, if I've read an author's other books and LOVED them, I will want to read subsequent books, no matter what.

Conclusion? Writing the very best book you can is THE most important thing you can do to sell books. And no matter how much we may wish that everyone will want to read our books, not everyone will, because not everyone's tastes are the same. C'est la vie!

What do you think? Does your list look differently from mine?

Another authorly first!

Most of the time, I like getting out of my office. I like meeting up with my writer friends, doing group events, attending signings. Let's face it, there are lots of fun things about being an author.

But I'm pretty sure, after my experience yesterday, I will *never* be excited about getting out of my office in order to do an interview for television. This was my first time, and I was nervous. Yes, I know, most people would be. And I did find some comfort in that. The whole way there, I told myself, just talk to Brooke like she's a friend, and forget about the camera. And for the most part, I think I did that. But it's hard to forget about it completely, you know?

Here is a picture of me and Brooke Carlson before the interview, taken by the very nice cameraman whose name escapes me now:



I wish I had gone shopping and gotten something new to wear. I think I would have felt more confident. But I hate shopping. And money is tight. So I made do with what I had. And then I had a bad hair day. And the wind and rain outside made it more so. And, and, and...

You know what? It's fine. It's fine!! I got to talk about my book on TV, and some people may learn about it that didn't know about it before. That's the important thing.

The owners of Cupcake Jones, Peter and Lisa, were super sweet and I got to walk around the kitchen and see the private staff bathroom that has stuff written on the walls I was "sworn to forget." I'd tell you what they said, but I can't seem to remember???

Oh, and they sent me home with these, which definitely helped soothe the pain of the experience.

Is there a right way or wrong way?

So, this is how it goes.

We write a book.

But it's more than just writing.

It's pouring

heart

soul

blood

tears

everything-we-are-and-everything-we-have

into that book.

And if the stars and planets are aligned JUST RIGHT we might actually sell that book and get it published.

So then, one day, we are happy, like this:

And for awhile, we are busy with revisions and line-edits and cover joy and first-pass pages until one day, it's all done.

ALL DONE!

But the reality hits. One part is over. And another part is just beginning. The marketing and selling part. And as the date our book will be out in the world gets closer, we start to look more like this:

Many people who haven't been through the process of making a book don't understand this part. Why would you be anything less than happy? You have a book coming out. Your dream is coming true!! But, we worry. We worry about letting our publisher down, looking like a failure to others, bad reviews, no reviews, low sales, and on and on. Not only that, but we look around and see the successful books and we want our book to be LIKE THAT. So, combine worry with envy and you have a bad combination. It's authorly angst at its worst!

This is all normal, I suppose. But I've been thinking lately about how I see authors *respond* to this part of the process.

Some authors deal by talking about their books pretty much non-stop.

Some authors deal by becoming a marketing machine. They add more and more and more things to their plate, spending every spare minute on marketing.

Some authors deal by unplugging and disappearing from the internet completely, wanting to live in the world of Ignorance is Bliss.

Some plunge into a new book, finding solace there.

And still others deal by talking with others in the business who understand and can offer some perspective. Here I'm reminded of Sara Zarr's wisdom, which she shared with Cynthia Leitich Smith in THIS interview. "A book is a wonderful, miraculous thing. But in some sense, it's also just a book." It's often others in the business who can remind us that it's not the end of the world if a book doesn't perform the way we want it to, or hope it will.

I'm sure there are other ways I'm not thinking of at this moment.

I think I deal by understanding that there will be disappointments in this business. And there will also be surprises. We can't control what we get. And I really don't want to live in a state of miserable angst all the time - it's NOT FUN!! So, I do what I can do promotion-wise with somewhat of a plan, try to let the worry go, and I start back at the beginning, with this:

I write a book.

But I'm curious. Do you think there's a right way? Is there a wrong way? Or is it just understanding that everyone's different and everyone simply has to figure out what works for them?

Timeline and Checklist for YA or MG Book Release

I wrote this checklist up about 6 months ago, as I pondered all the things I needed to do to prepare for the release of my third YA, CHASING BROOKLYN. I'd been through a book release before, but realized I could make it easier on myself if I put the things that needed to be done in some kind of organized manner.

I was looking it over recently, thinking about my next upcoming book, my first middle-grade novel, IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES, and I thought, I bet others would find it helpful - I should share it on my blog! So, I added some helpful information, and I'm sharing!

Please note: do not feel like you have to do EVERYTHING on this list. Pick what you WANT to do, and what you think will work best for your book and do those things. I promise, you are not a failure if you don't want to do all of the things listed. I've included everything I could think of because that way, we have many opportunities from which to choose from.

If I've missed anything, please do let me know, and I'll add it!

And yes, you may print for your own use - enjoy!

~*~

Checklist for months leading up to book release
by Lisa Schroeder

Six months prior

o Look into speaking opportunities at conferences that will fall in the months after your book is released. They often have opportunities to sell and sign books, so it’s a great way to get out there, meet people and sell books. Once you find these opportunities, you often have to submit a proposal, and there are deadlines, so it’s good to start looking pretty far in advance.

o Get bookmarks and/or postcards made (once cover is finalized) and start handing them out as you can to let people know about your book(s). This is ongoing up through release date and beyond.

o If you don’t have a web site, now is the time to put the wheels in motion! Don’t have the skills yourself? You’ll want to spend time researching other authors’ web sites, and when you find one you like, take a look at the designer’s site and start making a list of designers to contact. If you already have a web site, how long has it been since you’ve updated the information? Fresh content is important!

o Does your book have an angle that would be good for a web site of its own? If so, that should also be created now.

o Line up a videographer and send manuscript or questionnaire for the making of a book trailer, if this is something you want to do.

Three - Four months prior

o Touch base with the in-house publicist. Ask what he/she plans to do and how you might assist with the efforts.

o Work on blog tour and get hosts lined up. Figure out when you want questions sent, how you want to handle prizes, if there will be prizes, and all the other necessary details.

o Schedule your book release party at a book store, or a fun location where a book store might be willing to come and sell books.

o Schedule book signings in nearby towns, if possible during the first month. Your publicist may want to help with this.

o Think about teaming with other authors for book events and approach them about your idea to do group events.

o Look into other swag you may want to do for your book – buttons, t-shirts, lip gloss, etc.

o Forward any ARC requests to the publicist

o Begin gathering addresses of nearby school librarians, language arts teachers, etc. for mailings the month before your signing.

o If your book would work well in schools, work on making a teacher’s guide or seek someone out who helps authors make these for a fee. Post to your web site when done.

Two months prior

o Put a call out for a street team. Send postcards, bookmarks, other swag to a certain number of people who are willing to talk up the book to their friends, teachers, librarians, etc. Make them feel special, perhaps give a little gift for helping!

o If you are willing to do Skype visits, join the skype author network.

o Create an on-line press kit, and get this uploaded to your site.

o Start preparing press releases and figure out where to send them.

o Make sure your web site has a good, up-to-date bio.

One month prior

o Do some informational blog posts that will hopefully drive people to your blog, but which have nothing to do with your book. Some of the best promotion is simply getting your name out there by offering up helpful information to other people.

o If you want to have contests to bring attention to your book, start planning them here.

o Send out postcards or letters to school librarians and teachers in your area letting them know about your book, school visit availability, and your scheduled book signings.

o Make sure to tweet and blog about any good reviews your book gets, especially from well-known publications.

o Look for volunteers to hand out bookmarks and postcards. Drop some by your local school libraries.

o Ask people who read and review the book to post the reviews on Amazon and goodreads for further exposure.

o If your book signing will include a talk, start preparing that now, and decide where in the book you’ll read. 5-10 minutes of reading is PLENTY. Anything more than that, and you lose people.

The month of the release

o Have fun! Enjoy this time! Go to your book signings and other events knowing you did everything could in the months preceding the release to help give your book a fabulous start!

Novel 1 and Novel 2 - Things Learned

Back in January 2008, when I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME was released, I was excited. Sure, scared too, but mostly excited. And so many people here in this wonderful writing community were excited for me.

YA was on the verge of exploding - in that coming year and the year after, many of YOU would have your first YA sale! The class of 2k7 was the first group to band together and see what the power of numbers could do. The class of 2k8 followed, and YA author Liz Gallagher and I were the first releases of that second class.

Excitement is a good thing when a book is released. Excitement is contagious. And excitement, not just mine, but yours, carried me far. In just short three months, over xxx copies of I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME were sold. (I had a number here, then wondered if that's tacky? I'm clueless sometimes as to what is okay to say and what isn't. Please forgive me!)

Fast forward a year, to December, 2008. Out in the world, a lot is happening. The stock market has plummeted. People have lost jobs. The world's financial market is on the verge of collapse. It feels as if at any moment, the rug is going to be pulled out from under us and it's going to be one big free-fall.

And there I was, with a second novel, FAR FROM YOU, to be released amongst all of that.

I was afraid.

Afraid of what was happening out there.
Afraid my second book wouldn't be liked as much as my first.
Afraid to promote because who wants to ask people to buy a book when the world is falling apart?

It will come as no surprise that I now can say quite confidently one cannot effectively sell a book (and yes, that IS our job once the book is released) from a place of fear. Especially when there is another author around every corner who is happy, excited, supported by others, and is anything BUT afraid.

I have learned a lot over the past two years. Some of it because of what I have experienced personally and some of it from watching all of you. I believe the keys to successful promotion are as follows:

1) Write the best book you can write. It really is THE most important thing.
2) Be excited. Be proud. And don't be afraid to let that excitement and pride come through.
3) Make a plan to promote your book and work that plan hard
4) Figure out what you are best at as far as promotion and DO THAT. And do NOT kick yourself because you can't do this or that as well as Miss Marketing Guru over there. It's okay.
5) Find ways - ideas, services, articles, presentations, etc. - that reach out and help other people. Author Kate Messner and Shelli Johannes-Wells have really taught me about this one. Round-about exposure is often the best kind.
6) Band together with other authors as much as possible. There really IS power in the numbers.
7) Think outside the box. Look for new, creative ways to bring exposure to your book(s).
8) Support other authors as much as possible. Be an advocate for YA literature whenever you can.

An author's thoughts on the value of Twitter

I know there are still a lot of people who don't get it. And many who don't want to go there because it seems like it could be a giant time suck.

I've been tweeting for a few months now, and thought I'd share my thoughts, as well as a very smart editor's thoughts, about how this social network is good for an author.

First of all, I should say that because I work a day job, I can't be on twitter and probably am not on twitter as much as most authors.

But the the great thing about twitter is you can pop on for a few minutes, reply to a few tweets, post something, and pop off. Later, I can go back and check if I had any replies to my tweet, and respond if I want to.

So why twitter?

I really think this is social networking at its best, if you use it correctly.

You can reach a whole bunch of people in a matter of seconds - to share good news, to point people to a blog post, to ask a question... The list is endless. And, if people see that you have something great going on, they will retweet your tweet (with a RT at the beginning, followed by what you tweeted), which means you have reached even MORE people.

Do some people use it like a giant chat room? Yes. Do you have to use it that way? No, not if you don't want to. Sometimes I get into a conversation with someone, and that's fun though. And there are scheduled chats that go on, like the weekly #kidlitchat that happens every Tuesday evening, I believe.

Author and Twitter Guru Mitali Perkins does this great thing called #bookbday. It's a tweet on a book's release that gives the title, the genre, the publisher, the author, and a link to somewhere that gives you info about the book and shows the cover.

People retweet these book birthday party posts like crazy, and you just never know who might click on the link and hear about your book for the first time.

I want to sum up this post with some words from the very wise editor Molly O'Neill, who answered some marketing questions over at Shelli's fabulous blog - Market My Words. If you haven't read the interview yet, it's AWESOME, and you should read it in its entirety.

I'm going to paraphrase here, because you should go and read the interview, but basically she said, by participating in social networking sites, WE ARE REMINDING PEOPLE WE EXIST. We are reinforcing the connection we established at some point, and this is how we build relationships.

Yes, writing a good book is the most important thing for an author. But it is so competitive out there, and I think whatever we can do to build relationships with librarians, booksellers, readers, other authors, etc. is very important. Twitter gives us an opportunity to connect with people, even if only for a few minutes a day.

I'm sure I've missed some other valuable reasons. Anything you'd add, twitter users???

Does an on-line presence sell books?

The question every author wants to know.

Before I tackle it, let me first point you to the Great Ghost Giveaway Megan Crewe is having to celebrate the release of her book GIVE UP THE GHOST. Go HERE for all the details. Not only can you win an advance copy of GIVE UP THE GHOST, but also a copy of I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME by me and SHADOWED SUMMER by the incredibly talented Saundra Mitchell.

So, an on-line presence. Contests. Blogging. Twittering. Does it all matter in the scheme of things?

Of course, no one knows for sure. But I'm sure everyone has an opinion about it.

When I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME was released, I held a big giveaway - the 12 books of Christmas. Remember that? It wasn't really that long ago and yet it seems SO long ago. Anyway, back then, there weren't as many contests as there are now. The contest really helped to spread the word about my book and I HEART YOU did incredibly well its first couple of months out.

Fast forward to a year later. I did another big contest for FAR FROM YOU. The contest was different, but I still offered up a lot of prizes. I think I had even more prizes than I did the first time, I just gave them away differently. I had many, MANY entries.

And yet this time, the results were vastly different. FAR FROM YOU has had a tougher time of it. Of course there are many variables that come into play. I HEART YOU is paperback, FAR FROM YOU is hard cover. The book came out right when it felt like our financial floor was falling out beneath us. And just a year later, the number of books my book has to compete with is much, much larger. I HEART YOU has a paranormal aspect to it that FAR FROM YOU doesn't, and that could also be why it's done much better.

FAR FROM YOU isn't a bad book. In fact, some people who've read both books, like Becky of Becky's Book Reviews preferred FAR FROM YOU. And just last week I got two letters from teens telling me how much they loved FAR FROM YOU and they hadn't read I HEART YOU yet.

Could I have done more to get the word out about FAR FROM YOU? Maybe. Would it have helped? I don't know. What I do believe is that people don't want to be hit over the head on blogs and twitter and message boards with a message that screams - buy my book, buy my book, BUY MY BOOK. I mean, think about it. When you buy a book, WHY do you buy that book?

Here are my reasons. I buy a book because the premise sounds REALLY good. Unique. New. Interesting. Sometimes I buy a book because I want to support that author. I can tell you that if I hear a lot of people saying a book is great, like THE SEASON and SHADOWED SUMMER and most recently DULL BOY, guess what I'm doing? I'm going to the bookstore and I'm buying those books. It wasn't anything the author did on her blog that made me go and buy it. However, the work that author did to spread the word about the book, get review copies out, etc. helps for people to then blog about it, so I know people are loving the books.

Ultimately, I think good books will find readers. And as I've said before, it's not a sprint. It's a marathon. We do what we can and try to realize that so much of this business is out of our control. No one is going to buy a book because an author sounds scared and desperate. So keep those feelings to yourself. And in some ways, I think too much promotion can look a little desperate. So make a plan, work the plan, and know that in the end, it's not about how much time you're on twitter or how many blog posts or contests you did to promote your book. I mean, did any of us see any contests for THE HUNGER GAMES? No. And yet, how many of us read that book?

We have choices as to how we spend our time. Time writing the best book we can is the best choice EVERY SINGLE time.