editorial

Best Seller Book Marketing:  Promises vs Guarantees vs Reality

Irene Watson

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Majority of authors dream of having a "best seller" and in most cases the New York Times Best Sellers list would be the ultimate. I'm no different from any other author so I googled  "best seller book marketing" and got  7,280,000 hit/sites. Wow!

Taking a cursory click to some of the sites I was led to believe they were the ones that will make my ultimate dream come true.  However, as I pursued deeper into the sites, the information was the same-old same-old:  

Post to blogs - have back links, use SEO, follow other bloggers, use key phrases, tweet
Connect with customers and create a relationship

Hummm...as I say, same stuff every marketing "specialist" is saying. Boring.  I've just heard that too many times.  But I dug deeper.  Ah, here is one:

Your Best Selling Book will make you famous FREE course....

I clicked on the link and immediately went to a site with a recording telling me to sign up so I can "learn the secrets of turning my book into an empire and get the fame and recognition I deserve as an expert author."   Imagine, I'll receive free training and a free e-course just for signing up and my book will be a best seller!  The reality with these types of promotions is yes, you will get a course, but it's not free.  You will get a pdf with a few pointers that you can get off any book promoting site for free, but, by spending $3500+ you can actually take a course and learn marketing tips with no guarantee it's going to get your book on any list. And, the marketing tips are no different that you can find on sites for free.

Discouraged, I moved on.  Ah, here is one that has specialists working 24/7 on getting my book to the bestsellers list!  Wow, now that's the dedication I want. And, as I moved around the site I saw that in the last 10 months they've had 15 bestsellers! Sounds like a good one for me. Okay...how much for their service and what do I need to do? No disclosure - I have to email them.  More checking because I want to know what 15 books were best sellers.  Click, click, click - no list and no disclosure of who the successful authors/books were. No list, no credibility.  I can tell you, as someone  who helps promote authors, if any of the authors I helped made a bestsellers list they would be right there, front row and center.  It would be a double-whammy - promotion for the author, and definitely credibility that yes, indeed, I am a successful "specialist" that gets books to the bestsellers list.    

So, I moved on again and found a site by a book specialist "guaranteed to get your book on the New York Times Bestsellers list."  Yes, that's the one I want!  I want someone to guarantee to get my book on the NYT list - finally my dream will come true and I will be famous and have enough money to build an empire (that's what the previous expert told me.) I checked the site and it looks good - clean, informative, professional.  In order to get more information I had to send an email so I did.   After  going back and forth exchanging information I found the bottom line was paying $45,000 and yes, there was a 100% guarantee my book will make the NYT Bestsellers list. I suppose the reason they didn't list the titles on the site is because it would disclose which books paid their way into the best sellers list. (I personally know of two self-published books that made the NYT bestsellers list this way.)

Reality check.   How do I get my book on the bestsellers list?  Well, one way is by paying the above expert $45,000 to get it there for me.  Or, I can try it on my own. I can go directly to the major brick and mortar book store and  buy space on the front tables to the tune of $20,000 for a week's placement.  I will be competing with the large publishing houses so I may have to pay a little more, maybe $10,000 more. It is possible, but not guaranteed, the people will actually notice the book, think it's a popular book because it's on a front table and flock to buy it. Maybe. Also, what if it's not the week this particular mega chain is asked for their sales? That even makes it bigger "maybe."

Or, if the cards are really on my side and I am one of the lucky ones that gets the book on the list on its own merit (like through that 24/7 crew) then I am sailing.   But, the book really has to be as good as "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown.  (Top seller for Adult Fiction 2009 - Neilson Report.)  Hummm... but...did Brown's book get there on its own merit or how much money was really spent to get it on the bestsellers list in a matter of 4 months?  And, will I sell enough of my books to cover all the expenses to get it there?

Reality is reality. Promises give you nothing, and you have to pay for a guarantee.  What experience have you had? What are your thougths? Tell me here.

Irene

PS - I received emails from several people that have been reading my editorials were wondering if I'm angry and/or burning out? No, neither one. But I am disappointed in some of the authors and "experts" in the field. I believe in saying how it is, not fluffing over issues so that I get more business or am liked. Reality is reality.

Read article: What Defines a Bestseller in Books?

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Nonfiction - Maritime, Travel, Adventure

Tales of the Seven Seas: The Escapades of Captain Dynamite Johnny O'Brien

Dennis M. Powers

Taylor Trade Publishing (2010)
ISBN 9781589794474
Nonfiction, Maritime, Travel, Adventure
Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (02/10)

Synopsis:
Author Dennis M. Powers has penned numerous books about adventurous maritime exploits from treasure hunting to salvaging ships, but it’s hard to argue that Tales of the Seven Seas does not top the list for dynamite sea and human interest stories. The subject, Captain John O’Brien, lived and sailed during the exciting period of the late 1860s to early 1930s as full-sail ships became steamers, as the last glorious days of exploration ended, when South Seas royalty still held power, and a lack of regulation allowed adventure to flourish on the high seas.

Whether a fan of maritime stories, or one who likes high adventure, every reader will be engrossed by Tales of the Seven Seas. Best of all, this gripping story is true, yet seemingly so fantastic that it is based on fiction. Powers is the first author to compile the full story of Captain O’Brien, and no author is more qualified or more skilled at telling a good seafaring tale. Once they set sail, readers will never forget crossing the seven seas with Captain Dynamite Johnny O’Brien.

Read review of Tales of the Seven Seas
Read interview with Dennis M. Powers
Listen to interview on Inside Scoop Live
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Fiction - Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Romance

Chrysalis: Tribulations (Book 2, Chrysalis Series)

M.L. Lacy

AuthorHouse (2010)
ISBN 9781449014803
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (03/10)

Synopsis: In Chrysalis: Tribulations by author M.L. Lacy, the exciting Chrysalis saga continues as Bree’s eyes are opening to unimagined possibilities. Reunited with her soul mate, Steven, and her protectors Bradley, Bill and Rick, she journey’s through a world she is only now beginning to comprehend.

As the prophecy told at her birth continues to unfold, Bree and those around her are only beginning to truly understand the danger’s she will face and the strength required to endure. But her transformation as a Magical has only just begun and her abilities grow much too rapidly, draining her to the point of complete exhaustion. Her clan fears that too much has been demanded of her and they continue to tighten their circle of protection around her, preventing her from following her true path. Bree must find a way to convince them that she is capable of prevailing while she searches for a way to save both human and Magical worlds before it’s too late.

Read review of Chrysalis: Tribulations
Listen to interview on Inside Scoop Live
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Spotlight - Reader Views Literary Awards Winner

Perceptive Marketing Book Award for the Best Nonfiction Book of the Year

Indigo Awakening by Dr. Janine Talty

Energy Psychology Press (2009)
ISBN 9781600700637

Winner in this category was chosen from all first place winners in the nonfiction categories. .

Dr. Janine Talty, today a successful osteopathic physician, as a child found herself bewildered by a world full of challenges that she could not understand. She felt isolated, unable to cope with the regular life issues that other children managed easily. Only as she grew into adulthood, painfully learning to cope with her challenges, did she realize she was an "indigo," one of a generation of people with unusual talents and abilities, yet who rarely fit neatly into societal roles.

Indigo Awakening is the inspiring story of how Dr. Janine Talty overcomes these challenges, finds her voice and identity, and discovers a channel for her healing abilities as an osteopathic physician.

Read review of Indigo Awakening
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