Welcome to the May 9, 2012 edition of the book marketing blog carnival. We have several interesting posts for you about writing, book publishing, book marketing and more.

Our next carnival will be posted on Wed., May 23, 2012. Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. CT on Mon., May 21, 2012. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the book marketing blog carnival using our carnival submission form.

We are also accepting articles for publication here at http://SellingBooks.com/. Check out this information on how to submit your publishing articles, then send us your best!

Marketing and Online Marketing

Joel Friedlander presents Author Blogging 101: Finding Time for Blogging — The Book Designer posted at Joel Friedlander.

Sarah Bolme presents Walking Advertisements posted at Marketing Christian Books.

Laura Edgar presents 4 No-Brainer SEO Moves posted at NerdWallet Blog – Credit Card Watch, saying, “These four small moves can make a huge difference in how your company succeeds in presenting itself to search engines and to people.”

Jackson James presents Pinterest Traffic Tips – How to go Viral on Pinterest posted at How to Get Real Pinterest Followers, saying, “Pinterest was introduced in the year 2010 and is managed by Cold Brew Labs based in Palo Alto, California. This is basically a social networking website that binds its users through pictures and videos. It would not be wrong if we call pinterest an online scrapbook where you can pin pictures or videos from YouTube. You can choose a particular topic or theme like weddings or Christmas and upload pictures relating to them and pin them on pinterest and get a lot of traffic”

Joel Friedlander presents Author Blogging 101: Listening to Your Readers — The Book Designer posted at Joel Friedlander.

Anna Farmery presents Show 382 – Calculating return on social influence posted at The Engaging Brand, saying, “Social influence is becoming more and more important in marketing your book”

Ivan Ong presents Top PPV Network Trafficvance Holiday Gift | My Online Journey To Become A Super Affiliate posted at make money online Singapore, saying, “Surprised! Today i received a mail from Federal Express and its a bulky item… I thought maybe W4 has sent me another gift for my ‘outstanding’ performance but it was not… Its a surprise gift from Trafficvance – the top ppv network. This is the first time i have ever received a gift from them and its really cool. Previously, all i received were well wishes card from them”

Laura Dawson presents Conquer Headlines and Shine! posted at Design Quotes Digital Marketing Blog ~ Design Quotes Blog ~ Digital Marketing Blog, saying, “Writing great content is enough of a challenge in itself, without the possibility that it may not even be read – all because your headline sucks. Learn how to put a new spin on old headline formulas.”

Writing and Publishing

Kathy Stinson presents “An Intimate Examination of Sock Fluff” Part 5 posted at Turning the Pages, saying, “The next excerpt from my Packaging Your Imagination keynote in a series that started in December 2011…”

Chase Dumont presents How to Build Suspense posted at Terrifying Tales, saying, “A how-to on suspense writing, this piece breaks down the formulas employed by investigative journalists and horror movies to show you how to craft your suspense-filled tales.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the book marketing blog carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Welcome to the April 25, 2012 edition of the book marketing blog carnival. We have several interesting posts for you about writing, book publishing, book marketing and more.

Our next carnival will be posted on Wed., May 9, 2012. Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. CT on Mon., May 7, 2012. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the book marketing blog carnival using our carnival submission form.

We are also accepting articles for publication here at http://SellingBooks.com/. Check out this information on how to submit your publishing articles, then send us your best!

Marketing and Online Marketing

Dana Lynn Smith presents Don’t Be an Anonymous Author – The Savvy Book Marketer posted at The Savvy Book Marketer.

Joel Friedlander presents Author Blogging 101: The Profit in Persistance — The Book Designer posted at Joel Friedlander.

Amanda Keight presents Using Meetup to Find Local Writers to Help Promote Your Book posted at Selling Books, saying, “Your journey as a writer might be largely independent, but finding a network of other writers can encourage your creativity and, ultimately, help publish and sell your work. Thanks to the Internet and websites like Meetup.com, you can instantly be connected to a network of other local writers, which can positively impact your career.”

Writing and Publishing

Kathy Stinson presents “An Intimate Examination of Sock Fluff” Part 5 posted at Turning the Pages, saying, “The next excerpt from my Packaging Your Imagination keynote in a series that started in December 2011…”

Sarah Bolme presents e-Reading on the Rise posted at Marketing Christian Books.

Jonathan Scott presents Four Options for Ebook Production posted at Selling Books, saying, “An eBook that’s poorly formatted, riddled with errors, or just plain difficult to read isn’t going to go viral.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the book marketing blog carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Welcome to the April 11, 2012 edition of the book marketing blog carnival. We have several interesting posts for you about writing, book publishing, book marketing and more.

Our next carnival will be posted on Wed., April 25, 2012. Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. CT on Mon., April 23, 2012. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the book marketing blog carnival using our carnival submission form.

We are also accepting articles for publication here at http://SellingBooks.com/. Check out this information on how to submit your publishing articles, then send us your best!

Marketing and Online Marketing

Joel Friedlander presents Author Blogging 101: Simple SEO for Authors, Part 1 — The Book Designer posted at Joel Friedlander.

Sarah Bolme presents The Key to Selling Books posted at Marketing Christian Books.

Lois Roelofs presents Ten Things I Learned on My Way to Market posted at Selling Books, saying, “After you’ve told everyone about your book, including your barista, what next? Here are ten things I learned about how to sell your books.”

Writing and Publishing

R. E. Hunter presents What Happens If Your Publisher Hits the Wall? posted at Writing & Random Thoughts, saying, “An article about the risks authors face in a traditional publishing contract if their publisher declares bankruptcy.”

Kathy Stinson presents “An Intimate Examination of Sock Fluff” Part 4 posted at Turning the Pages.

Francis Awundaga presents The Resurrected Life. posted at The Life And Mr Faithful, saying, “This article will lead to the awareness of that spiritual path that can rekindle in you that money making or money spinning ability. Hence giving you the ability to enjoy a better life as an author or publisher.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the book marketing blog carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Welcome to the March 28, 2012 edition of the book marketing blog carnival.

Our next carnival will be posted on Wed., April 11, 2012. Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. CT on Mon., April 9, 2012. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the book marketing blog carnival using our carnival submission form.

We are also accepting articles for publication here at http://SellingBooks.com/. Check out this information on how to submit your publishing articles, then send us your best!

Marketing and Online Marketing

Dan Janal presents How to Sell More Books at Conferences posted at Selling Books, saying, “At a recent conference, David Koop was racking up sales of his book to fellow attendees, even though he was a participant, not a presenting speaker. I asked David to share his tips for selling and serving.”

Jon Rhodes presents How To Make Money With E Books posted at Affiliate Help!, saying, “This article shows you all the processes involved in making and selling an e book.”

Matt Hughes presents How To Use Facebook Timeline for Brand Pages posted at Social Media Marketing by eBizUniverse, saying, “Wondering how to use the new facebook timeline feature for brands or for business pages? Before brands were able to set a custom default landing page, this was to make sure the consumers would see what you wanted them to see and forcing them to “LIKE” your page to get past the landing page.”

Writing and Publishing

Lisa de Nikolits presents Weaving Travel Into Your Fiction Writing posted at Selling Books, saying, “I’ve always loved to travel and I’ve always loved to write. And together, the two seem to be a simple recipe for almost-guaranteed publishing success.”

Ellen Herbert presents Breaking the Silence posted at Ellen Herbert, saying, ““The twinkling of an eye will take as long as I say, and will, if I wish, divide into tiny eternities, full of bullets stopped in mid-flight. Not a thing will happen unless I say so.” Wislawa Szymborska (July 2, 1923-February 1, 2012). This great poet died. The line above is from her poem, “The Joy of Writing,” one I’ve used with students like a cheer: understand the writer’s power. This power is yours when you write your truth. You can stop the bullet in mid-flight. All flesh is grass; our time short. Like the great poet we will die, but through writing we preserve what we believe is important. Out writing is the “revenge of a mortal hand.” Wislawa Szymborska was born in Poland and spent the end of her life in Krakow, where she was beloved. The days between her birth date and death date tell of a life lived during the twentieth century’s great struggles, the wars, hot and cold, the occupations by Nazis and Soviets, eventually communism replaced by capitalism. Yet humor not history shines through her work. In “Poetry Reading” written in 1962, she teases about being a boxer since boxing draws crowds. Only twelve of the twenty seats at her reading are taken. A few attendees are relatives, the others just folks who’ve come in to get out of the rain. “O Muse.” And yet she sings her song to the twelve. Wislawa Szymborska’s life inspires me and asks me: why do I break the silence? Do I ignore the sirens calling from market place? I must if I am to find and write my truth. My short story collection, Falling Women and Other Stories, is out. These stories were written over a 25 year period. Nine were published in women’s magazines as well as in literary magazines and zines. Three are newly published here. Ten have won awards. I love them all. They are my songs, and I sing them for you.”

Other

Henrikk Edberg presents Top 15 Most Successful Book to Movie Adaptations posted at Film Production Schools.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of book marketing carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Welcome to the March 14, 2012 edition of the book marketing blog carnival.

Our next carnival will be posted on Wed., March 28, 2012. Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. CT on Mon., March 26, 2012. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the book marketing blog carnival using our carnival submission form.

We are also accepting articles for publication here at http://SellingBooks.com/. Check out this information on how to submit your publishing articles, then send us your best!

Marketing and Online Marketing

Joel Friedlander presents Author Blogging 101: Linking for Traffic — The Book Designer posted at Joel Friedlander.

Reviews

Sergeant P presents Modern Marine Corps Reading List | Modern Marine Corps posted at Modern Marine Corps.

Writing and Publishing

Kathy Stinson presents “An Intimate Examination of Sock Fluff” Part 3 posted at Turning the Pages.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of book marketing carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

The journey of a thousand manuscripts pages (or even 150) begins with a single idea. Here’s how to find one.

Many people who attend my book publishing semi­nars already have a book idea in mind. Others, however, have a strong desire to write a book, but are stuck on coming up with a suitable topic. If you fall into this category, here are ten sources of ideas for books you may want to write:

1.     JOB EXPERIENCE

An obvious but often overlooked source of book ideas is your job. Thousands of excellent books have been written by authors about a skill, expertise or career experience gained on the job.

This is how I came to write my first book, Technical Writing: Structure, Standards and Style (McGraw-Hill). My first job after graduating college was as a technical writer for Westinghouse Electric Corp. in Baltimore. After several months writing technical materials, I began to feel the need for a writing guide to assist technical writers with matters of style, usage, punctuation and grammar (for example, does one write 1/4 or 0.25 or one fourth in technical documents?). Being book-minded, I went to the bookstores and found nothing appropriate.

My idea was to compile a style guide for technical writers modeled after the best-selling general writing style guide, The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White. I wrote a content outline and book proposal, and began to pursue agents and publishers. I was extremely lucky: The first agent who saw Technical Writing agreed to represent the book, and within three weeks, he sold it to the first publisher to look at it, McGraw-Hill. The advance was $8,500 -not bad for a first-time author in 1981 for a short (100-page) book.

Not every book I’ve written since has sold so quickly and easily. But subsequently, I have written a number of books based on skills and experiences gained in various careers and jobs.

Do you hold a highly desirable position or work in a glamorous industry: Then you can write a book telling others how to get into your line of work.

Have you developed specific and valuable skills such as computer skills selling, marketing, finance, negotiating or programming-skills that others need to master? There’s a need for a book telling them how to do it.

2.      TEACH A COURSE

There are many opportunities for you to design and teach courses to other people at work, at adult education evening classes at the local high school or college, a community colleges, at association meetings and even on the university level.

If you get the opportunity to teach a course, keep in mind that the topic and content outline you develop for the course may have appeal to a publisher as the outline for a potential book on the same subject.

In 1981, a private seminar company offering low-cost public seminars in New York City asked me to do an evening program on marketing and promotion for small business. The pay was lousy but I accepted. A year or so later, I tool the course title and outline, turned it into a book proposal, and sold my second book, How to Promote Your Own Business, to New American Library.

If you want to write nonfiction books there are two advantages to teaching a class or seminar. First, in developing and teaching the course you will simultaneously be doing most of the legwork necessary to produce a book on the subject. Therefore, once you’ve given the course, transforming it into a book is a relatively quick and easy next step (or at least quicker and easier than doing , book from scratch).

Second, teaching the course positions you as an expert in the subject making you more attractive to book publishers. They figure that anyone who can give a course on the topic must have a substantial amount of information and expertise to share. If you taught the course at a prestigious, well-known institution, that further boosts your credibility

3.      TAKING COURSES

Taking courses can also give you fresh infusion of ideas and information that can become the basis for a book.

The same private seminar company was teaching small business promotion seminars for offered a number of courses in different career areas, which as an instructor, I could take for free. After taking several, I came up with the idea of doing a career book on how to break into some of the more exciting, glamorous industries and professions, such as music, film, advertising, travel and television. The book, Creative Careers: Real Jobs in Glamour Fields, was published by John Wiley & Sons.

Warning: When you take the course, don’t steal or plagiarize the instructor’s seminar, reprinting it word for word as your book. Consider it a starting point and supplement it with additional research from many other sources (book articles, interviews, other seminars, etc.)

If the instructor does have good information you want to reprint (such as lists of contacts and resources), get his permission in writing. You can also ask the instructor if he or she will agree to be interviewed by you for inclusion in the book.

4.      WRITE ABOUT YOUR LIFE EXPERIENCES

“It is in the totality of experience reckoned with, filed and forgotten, that each man is truly different from all others in the world,” writes Ray Bradbury in Zen in the Art of Writing. Every person every life, is unique, and this is why say that everyone has at least one book inside them: What has happened to you has not happened to other people, and your experiences will make for a book that is either instructive, entertaining, moving or any combination of these.

This applies to everyone. For example, if you have chosen to remain single you can write Living Alone and Loving It or a similar book on the joys of being single. If you are married with children, you have unique experiences as a parent, and can share your knowledge and experiences with others in an entertaining or informative book. If you are married but have been unable to have children, you have credibility to write a book on infertility. If you and your spouse have not had children by choice, you can write a book on Choosing to Live Child-Free. If you have only one child, you can write Raising the Single Child. If you’re a single parent, you can write Straight Talk and Advice for Single Parents.

In 1982, the New York City engineering firm employing me told me I would have to relocate. My fiancee did not want to leave Manhattan, so I resigned and started a new career as a self-employed industrial writer, producing brochures and data sheets for chemical companies and industrial equipment manufacturers.

The transition from employee to freelancer was an educational experience, one I knew many others would go through (or would hope to, some day). This became the topic of my book, Out on Your Own: From Corporate to Self-Employment, also published by Wiley.

5.      WRITE ABOUT A PROCESS OR TASK YOU KNOW HOW TO DO Through work, leisure or life experience, we all have done things that many other people have not done, and therefore know a good deal more about these things than they do. The inexperienced would like to learn from your experiences and avoid your mistakes, and a book is the ideal vehicle for this.

For instance, after resigning from the engineering firm and becoming a self-employed industrial writer in 1982, I was forced to learn how to succeed in the commercial writing field on my own; there was no book to guide me. I made many expensive mistakes and learned from experience.

To help other writers speed the learning curve and avoid these mistakes, I wrote Secrets of a Freelance Writer, published by Henry Holt & Co. The book is about the process of running a freelance writing business, covering everything from getting started and finding clients to setting fees and negotiating contracts.

6.      WRITING ABOUT YOUR HOBBY Hobbies that fascinate you no doubt fascinate a lot of other people. As a hobbyist, you have much more knowledge than a journalist or other outsider who would have to research the field from scratch. Why not turn your hobby into profit center by writing a book about it?

One of my hobbies is collecting comic books. I love Superman, Batman Wolverine, and the other DC and Marvel superheroes.

When I graduated college in 1979, I burned with the desire to write a book and get it published. I started two book projects. One was a Harlequin romance novel, which I started not because I enjoy Harlequin romance novels-I’ve never even read one-but because I figured it would be easy to do. I was wrong. I wrote 40 pages of the worst Harlequin romance novel of all time before abandoning the project.

But writing those pages taught me an important lesson: Don’t select a topic or form for your book just because you think it is commercially viable and will make you a lot of money. If you do, your lack of enthusiasm will show through in your writing.

On the other hand, if you are passionate about your topic, your enthusiasm will show through in your writing. The book will be easier and more fun to write, and the final product will be much better in quality.

The second book project I started working on was a trivia book on comic book superheroes, written in quiz form. For example: What are the six types of kryptonite? (Green, red, blue, white, gold, jewel.) What was Spider-Man’s major in college? (Physics.)

I wrote a short manuscript and, having no contacts in publishing, and no knowledge of the publishing business, sent it to editors at various paperback publishers with a cover letter. It was rejected by all. I gave up and put it in a drawer.

Years later, when I was cleaning out some files, I came across the manuscript. I was going to throw it out, but instead mailed it to my literary agent with a note saying, “Do you think you can do anything with this?”

Six weeks later, she called and said she’d sold the book. I was speechless, The book, Comic Book Heroes: 1,101 Trivia Questions About America’s Favorite Superheroes From the Atom to the X-Men, was published by Citadel Press.

The second lesson I learned from this, experience was: A book idea that doesn’t sell now might sell later. If you get rejected by publishers, don’t throw away or forget about the book proposal. File it and make a note to take another look al it in six or twelve months. Sometime you have success on the second or third try because the timing is right. Other times, you see the idea from a fresh perspective, rewrite it, and make the sale with the revised book proposal. When asked to address the graduating class at Oxford, Winston Churchill, a great writer, stood up, said only “Never give up,” and sat back down. These three words are good advice for authors who want to sell book proposals to publishers.

Eventually, a third lesson revealed itself: Every book published gives you credential that can lead to more book contracts in the same field.

I enjoyed writing the comic book trivia book. After it came out, I though about doing trivia books on other topics in a similar format.

I was always a big Star Trek fan. This resulted in two books with Harper-Collins: The Ultimate Unauthorized Star Trek Quiz Book and Why You Should Never Beam Down in a Red Shirt. As publishers began to see me as a writer of popular culture trivia, I received several more contracts along this line, including What’s Your Frasier I.Q.?, a quiz book on the TV show Frasier.

Books about hobbies can be how-to, money-making, reference, specialized or general information. If you have an interest in tropical fish, for example, you could write How to Keep Tropical Fish (how-to), How To Breed Tropical Fish for Fun and Profit (moneymaking), An Illustrated Guide to Aquarium Fish (reference), Care and Breeding of Fancy Guppies (specialized) or Your First Fish Tank (general).

Notice that the first six methods on this list involve you, the author, having some special insight, experience or information on the topic of your book. Author and publisher Dan Poynter says: “Write about something in which you are a participant. The world needs more books written by writers who are also experts, not writers who are journalists.”

“Concentrate on the area that interests you, and if you’re not an expert now, you may become one,” writes Tom Peeler in The Writer.” And even if the area of interest still requires consultation with recognized professionals, specialization will allow you to develop regular sources and will give you credibility with them.”

One of Gary Larson’s Far Side cartoons shows an author autographing his book at a book signing. The caption reads, “After being frozen in ice for 10,000 years, Thag promotes his autobiography.” The title of the book: It Was Very Cold and I Couldn’t Move. Obviously, no publisher expects you to have 10,000 years of experience in your subject matter. But writing about something you know, have experienced or have achieved is one route to coming up with a book idea a publisher will buy from you.

7.      COLLECT AND COMPILE TIDBITS OF SCATTERED INFORMATION

Are you interested in a specific field of knowledge or study? And are you the type who clips articles and collects tidbits of information on your topic? If so, you can convert this passion for information by compiling your collected knowledge into book form.

For a while, I became fascinated with all the toll-free consumer helplines and hotlines I saw advertised, giving free information on everything from AIDS prevention to gardening tips to stock market quotes. I became an obsessive collector of these numbers, clipping articles and writing down 800 numbers I heard on radio and saw on TV. Finally, I compiled them into a book, Information Hotline U.S.A., published by New American Library.

Similarly, a friend of mine, Don Hauptman, is obsessed by language in general and word-play in particular. Don is a collector of information, and began collecting acronyms (such as DNA, LSD, scuba, laser). When his collection got large enough, he turned it into a book on acronyms, Acronymania, published by Dell.

8.      FIND AND FILL A NEED OR GAP IN THE READER’S KNOWLEDGE An excellent way of finding marketable ideas is to talk with people and find out what they want and need to know, then write a book to satisfy that information need.

For example, an attorney with good negotiating skills heard many clients telling him that they too wished they had good negotiating skills and would like help becoming better negotiators. The attorney became a millionaire by writing and selling books, audio and videotape programs, seminars and training sessions in negotiating skills.

Working as a business consultant, I saw there were dozens of books on sales, but almost nothing on how to generate leads for salespeople. I proposed The Lead Generation Handbook, which sold to Amacom, the publishing division of the American Management Association.

And when we moved out of New York City and bought a home in the suburbs, we knew nothing about plumbing, electricity, gardening, cars, aluminum siding, roofing, or the dozens of other things every homeowner eventually becomes familiar with. I thought, “Why not do a book that will be an instruction manual for first-time homeowners?”

I wrote a proposal for a book titled The Homeowner’s Survival Guide. No one was interested, and I put the proposal away in a file and forgot about it. Several years later, a major publisher-one for whom I’ve now written several books-came out with such a book with the exact same title. Another lesson learned: Pay attention to your own gut feelings. Had I kept trying with this book, as I advise you to do, it might very well have sold within a year or so. But I gave up on it, and now another author’s name is on the cover.

9.      TAKE AN EXISTING TOPIC AND TARGET IT TO A SPECIFIC AUDIENCE

A common situation is the author who wants to write a book on a specific topic but finds the field overcrowded.

This happens to all of us: You get an idea for a book, get excited about it. But

then you visit the bookstore and find two shelves full of books on the same topic, books that seem very much like yours. You become discouraged by the competition, give up and drop the idea. Don’t! You can still write that book. You just need a fresh slant, angle or hook.

One of the easiest and most successful methods to finding this fresh slant is to target your book toward a specific audience within the market. For example, a woman seminar leader told me she wanted to write a book on presentation skills, but was afraid to try because so many books already exist. She mentioned at one point that she trained mainly women. I asked her if women making presentations in the business world face a different set of challenges than men do. “Of course,” she replied.

“Then,” I suggested, “the title of your book should be Presentation Skills for Women.”

In the same way, I wanted to write a book on selling, but found the market overcrowded. Since my experience is in selling services vs. products, I offered Holt a book on Selling Your Services.

10.  WRITE WHAT INTERESTS YOU In addition to finding out what interests other people, an excellent source of ideas is what interests you. You are a curious, intelligent, creative human being, constantly thinking and wondering about the world around you. Chances are what interests you will interest many other people, too.

I’m a big Stephen King fan, as are many others. Having written the TV and comic book quiz books, I naturally thought of doing a quiz book on Stephen King. My agent promptly sold it to Kensington Books, a paperback publisher in New York City.

I recommend you keep a notebook, file folder or computer file labeled “book ideas,” and whenever an idea for a book comes to mind, write it down and save it. Don’t worry whether the book will eventually interest a publisher. Creating ideas and analyzing/assessing ideas are two separate activities, and should not overlap. Don’t hold your creativity back; let the ideas flow and quickly get them all down on paper. Later you can decide which won’t work and which merit further effort.

But first, you must have the idea.

Robert W. Bly is the author of more than 35 books, including The Copywriter’s Handbook (Henry Holt) and Write More, Sell More (Writer’s Digest Books). This article is excerpted from Getting Your Book Published and is copyright © 1997 by Robert W. Bly. It appears here through arrangement with Roblin Press.

Welcome to the February 22, 2012 edition of the book marketing blog carnival.

Our next carnival will be posted on Wed., March 14, 2012. Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. CT on Mon., March 12, 2012. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the book marketing blog carnival using our carnival submission form.

We are also accepting articles for publication here at http://SellingBooks.com/. Check out this information on how to submit your publishing articles, then send us your best!

Marketing and Online Marketing

Joel Friedlander presents Author Blogging 101: 3 Tips for Using Photos — The Book Designer posted at Joel Friedlander.

Cathy Stucker presents How to Send Kindle Review Copies posted at Selling Books saying, “Amazon provides a simple way to send copies of your ebook to anyone. This video shows how.”

Joel Friedlander presents Author Blogging 101: Linking for Traffic — The Book Designer posted at Joel Friedlander.

OC Heaton presents Bloggers Block posted at A Rush of Green, saying, “none”

Steven Chang presents Have You Secured YourName.COM Domain Name, Yet? posted at How To Start A Blog: For Fun And Profit!, saying, “please consider this blog post for your next publication. Thank you!”

Lindsay presents Newsletters 101: Email Marketing for Authors posted at The Irreverent Introvert, saying, “Covering the basics on starting a newsletter.”

Writing and Publishing

Sarah Bolme presents The State of the Industry posted at Marketing Christian Books.

Irene Watson presents How to Avoid Wordiness posted at Selling Books saying, “The mark of a good writer is the ability to say what needs to be said in as few words as possible.”

Chase Dumont presents How to Make an eBook (That Makes You Buckets of Money) posted at Chase Dumont, Rainmaker, saying, “Want to know how to write an eBook that’ll generate a side income stream while you sleep? In a fact-filled how-to post, Chase tells you exactly what to do.”

Kathy Stinson presents “An Intimate Examination of Sock Fluff” Part 2 posted at Turning the Pages.

Read.Learn.Write. presents A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Bookstore/Library? posted at Read.Learn.Write.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of book marketing carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Welcome to the February 8, 2012 edition of the book marketing blog carnival.

Our next carnival will be posted on Wed., February 22, 2012. Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. CT on Mon., February 20, 2012. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the book marketing blog carnival using our carnival submission form.

Marketing and Online Marketing

Joel Friedlander presents Self-Publishing: The Art of Getting Testimonials — The Book Designer posted at Joel Friedlander.

Dana Lynn Smith presents 4 Simple Steps to Creating a Vanity URL for Your Amazon Author Central Page posted at The Savvy Book Marketer.

Writing and Publishing

Jennifer Bardsley presents What Has Happened to the Mainstream Publishing Industry? posted at Teaching My Baby To Read, saying, “I have been amusing myself by spotting errors in even the most simplest of books recently, which begs the question: What is happening in the publishing industry? Are they arbiters of quality or just masterminds of marketing?”

Liz Shaw presents Ten Reasons to Carry a Blank Notebook posted at Liz Andra Shaw.

Cathy Stucker presents Quotes About Writing posted at Selling Books, saying, “Here are some of my favorite quotations about writing, from writers and others.”

Kathy Stinson presents “An Intimate Examination of Sock Fluff” Part 2 posted at Turning the Pages.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the book marketing blog carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Welcome to the January 25, 2012 edition of the book marketing blog carnival.

Our next carnival will be posted on Wed., February 8, 2012. Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. CT on Mon., February 6, 2012. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the book marketing blog carnival using our carnival submission form.

Marketing and Online Marketing

Dana Lynn Smith presents Does Your Author Website Need a Makeover? – The Savvy Book Marketer posted at The Savvy Book Marketer.

Joel Friedlander presents Author Blogging 101: Video Interview Tools and Tips — The Book Designer posted at Joel Friedlander.

Dan Janal presents Tips to Succeed on Reality TV posted at Selling Books saying, “It seems like everyone wants to be a Reality TV star. If that’s in your plan, consider these look-good/feel-good tips to become a reality star and best selling author.”

khaled presents Estimate the Response to Your Internet Marketing posted at internet marketing, saying, “Starting an Internet marketing campaign is only the first step within the battle. Sure it’s a good plan to begin an Internet marketing campaign if members of your audience are doubtless to use the Internet to research or purchase the products you sell or the services you provide however these promoting efforts may turn out to be a whole waste of your time if you’re not diligent concerning evaluating the response to your Internet marketing.”

Sarah Bolme presents eBook Price Trends posted at Marketing Christian Books.

Writing and Publishing

Kathy Stinson presents What organizations have you found helpful to you as a writer? posted at Turning the Pages.

Jason Ward presents My Books – The Word of Ward posted at The Word of Ward, saying, “Hi there, this is a link to the information and blurb about my eBook, ‘The Uneven Passage of Time’. Thanks a lot.”

Welcome to the January 11, 2012 edition of the book marketing blog carnival.

Our next carnival will be posted on Wed., January 25, 2012. Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. CT on Mon., January 23, 2012. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the book marketing blog carnival using our carnival submission form.

Marketing and Online Marketing

Dana Lynn Smith presents Simple Ways to Add a “Call to Action” to Blog Posts posted at The Savvy Book Marketer.

Joel Friedlander presents Author Blogging 101: Where Are the Readers? — The Book Designer posted at Joel Friedlander.

Corinne Liccketto presents 6 Book Publicity Tips for the New Year posted at Selling Books saying, “These six simple book publicity tips will help set you on the path to book promotion in the new year.”

Phil Byrne presents Discovering The Authentic Online You | Coffee Kicks posted at Coffee Kicks – SEO, Link Building.

Joel Friedlander presents Your Author Platform: It’s Not About You! — The Book Designer posted at Joel Friedlander.

Nick Daws presents Why Amazon Authors Should be Promoting Like Gangbusters Right Now! posted at Nick Daws’ Writing Blog.

Dana Lynn Smith presents The Best Way to Market Your Book – The Savvy Book Marketer posted at The Savvy Book Marketer.

Sarah Bolme presents Email Marketing Still Important posted at Marketing Christian Books.

Lindsay presents Tips for Getting Your Self-Published Book into the Library posted at The Irreverent Introvert, saying, “I interviewed a librarian and got the lowdown on getting self-published books into the library.”

Writing and Publishing

Lindsay presents How Many People Can *Really* Make a Living Self-Publishing? posted at The Irreverent Introvert, saying, “A moderately successful indie author shares some of her sales stats and thoughts after almost a year of e-publishing.”

Sarah Bolme presents Doing It Right posted at Marketing Christian Books.

Cathy Stucker presents Quotes About Writing posted at Selling Books saying, “Here are some of my favorite quotations about writing, from writers and others.”

Kathy Stinson presents “An Intimate Examination of Sock Fluff” – Part 1 posted at Turning the Pages: Kathy Stinson’s Blog.

O.C. Heaton presents Do you have a Memory Palace? posted at A Rush of Green, saying, “Here’s a question for all authors out there. Do you ever struggle to remember the characters in your books? What about those incidental characters, created on the hoof?”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of book marketing carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.