Self Sell: Marketing Your Book Frugally

Your book is finally published and sits before you to be distributed. The writing, editing, and sef publication were tough, but the real work begins now. In between the pre publication activities there are certain things you must start doing to start marketing for book sales and publicity. Where do you go from here?

Research for your book is an ongoing process that starts before you write. At this time you will also have ideas about the ways you want to get the word out. In your book proposal several key points were addressed like your target audience, places of interest, and general information about your book. Based on this you will be able to narrow down things you can do to market your book.

Even though the internet has a huge prescence these days, you must stick with basics to get started on developing a reader audience. Your web page is a great way to start. This will serve as your book's point of reference for future endeavors especially mailings and social media input. Another great resource is a blog whuch is essentially your personal newspaper outlet.  Unlike a web page, you can update as often as you like - for free. 

Social media networks are all abuzz with so many options for self sell of your book and you.  Consider your book your bonafide business card, and the social networks your cocktail party and business networker - 24/7. Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, LinkedIn are just a few of the many available.  It is recommended that book marketing be limited to under five or less as this activity alone can consume more time than it took to write and publish.  Social media sites allow for connections to many people while allowing writers to express themselves and actually "practice" writing.

As you develop more contacts the self sell bookmarketing can take you in many directions including speaking, teaching, and mass media.  Good starts are BlogTalkRadio and YouTube which are free for recording and on-demand listening.  You can then use them in your blog and social media engagement.

For more information, check out this Twitter list: Books/Authors/Writers 

"Diamond Chip": Dr. Diamond Finds Life Gene

As the medical mystery thriller Diamond Chip continues, Jalena Diamond's discovery of the life gene begins a medical maze of intertwining intersections that lead to Shangri-La.


Chapter 6

As long as our nation is divided it will be unable to conquer – united we must stand, divided we will fall. ---Dr. Jalena Diamond


Chapter 7

She was 120, but looked 20! Thanks to stem cell company Lygene, it was possible. The life gene they made was able to override actuary projections through the Lygene Life chip. Nanotechnology and molecular biology intertwined in DNA strands was the basis for this fountain of youth discovery. By changing tanga molecules to manufacture life sprouting qualities through stem cells, the chip was able to enhance and rejuvenate. It allowed a renewal of the entire body by returning the body to the newness of the near infantile state. A Shangri-La of sorts. Humans were able to retain their basic individual infrastructure in an adult infantile state of newness.

Would Lygene’s Life chip, LGene, make disease and health insurance obsolete? “Lifers” took on a whole new meaning. LGene was designed to omit disease from the DNA chain. Preventing disease from occurring or recurring was the bottom line. LGene productions were not only young, but flawless. Everlasting.

In the wrong hands this could mean bad business especially in the situation of an emergency gone disaster near the clinic with the hidden supply depot. LGene could be a potential for population explosion or control as years of fertility were extended indefinitely.

What had Jalena discovered? As a savvy investor for medical moneymakers, her research genius helped her and her team glean the gene…


Chapter 8

The news crews descended on the White House lawn yet again. The President was about to speak. What she had to say everyone wanted to hear. Front and center was young, Zelen March. He was thinking back to a previous assignment…driving along the narrow, bumpy, tree shrouded roads that led him to a lighted tunnel…a master server…television transmissions were being observed and recorded in a command center…of the universe? All satellite dishes pointed southwest from every rooftop in the world directly to this master server for humanity.

to be continued...in your body...in cyberspace?

Diamond Chip is written by J. L. Richardson, M.D., family medicine doctor and author of Patient Handbook to Medical Care: Your Personal Health Guide.

http://www.mypatienthandbok.blogspot.com/
www.twitter.com/drjfpmd

"Diamond Chip": Dr. Diamond's Adventure Begins

Diamond Chip begins in the previous blog post. Chapter 3-5 continues as Dr. Diamond begins her mystery mecca in the social media maze.


Chapter 3

As she walked from the concert she could only think of the cosmic healing force surrounding the superstar. The misty December rain and subtle fog shrouded her in complete mystery. Gridlock in the city streets surrounded Jalena. Finding a taxi would be difficult.

She threw her hooded black and white raincoat over her shoulders as her heels began to hit the pavement. Before she knew it she was the edge of town. As she approached her destination, she could see the yellow cabs lining the lanes of the hotel.

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Chapter 4

The steady sprinkle of rain felt good against her face. Raindrops sat on her long eyelashes as she blinked quickly to clear them. She lifted her right arm to hail a taxi. As she brought her arm to her side, she felt a hand grab hers. Turning quickly in self defense, Jalena let her guard down.

“I came back to let you know I got a thing for you. I can’t let go, darling,” was whispered in her ear near the nape of the curls on her neck. The soft whisper of warmth blew gently over her earlobe.

Jalena knew the touch, the voice, the soft whisper. All too well the gentle scent of August snuck up on her presence.

“August,” she whispered as their hands gently drifted down into a full grasp.
“What are you doing here?” she said.

He grinned as he nuzzled his nose gently against her earlobe triggering fireworks.

“Waiting for you,” he replied.

“Waiting for me?” she asked looking through the rain mist into August’s black eyes of wonder.

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Chapter 5

Déjà vu…

During this stormy day there was little to do except social media on the Internet. Jalena’s geek girl sense was a guilty pleasure. She spent hours on the computer doing business and research on the Lygene, the next big thing in health maintenance and wellness. Medicine was her passion. As technology advances, so does the way you use it.

Jalena found that social media were great tools for emergency dispatch information, loosely speaking of course. It was another way to help real emergency data transmission. These social media moguls allowed for vast networking to anyone, anywhere, anytime. People you know. People you meet for the first time. Business contacts and groups fitting your interests, old and new. Connecting the dots to make all of this useful was the key to unlock the secrets that fell between the status updates. Like connecting the dots.

Jalena typed fervishly. She was trying to finish the last chapter of her proposal for Lygene. She quickly checked her social media timeline for news.  She quickly scrolled down the pages of each open window careful to speed read every detail. Another uneventful day, same old stuff. Always looking for good news, there was little to be found on this day.

She scrolled and scrolled, clicked and clicked. Page after page went by in blurs of her teary eyes. Each page started to look the same with stories and pictures on inglorious ineptness. Coincidental items popped up as she surfed from page to page. Tracking monitors on the internet allowing you to feel in control of the next click. Sometimes she wondered if this was the case.

Computers are clever imitations of life. Social media sites are the CIA in disguise. Deceiving the bots is a full time task. Dr. Diamond used this strategy to make the web spider away from those who sought after her digital footprints. Internet confusion was no illusion.

to be continued...in cyberspace....

Meet Dr. Jalena Diamond in "Diamond Chip"

This is an introduction to Dr. Jalena Diamond in my upcoming thriller, Diamond Chip. Her adventurous curiosity takes her on an unbelievable journey of excitement. See what happens as this heroine unlocks a medical mystery that could save the lives of many.


Prologue

Touch gently this life You have created.

Chapter 1


Dr. Jalena Diamond leaned back in her chair and stared at the computer screen. It looked back. Her social media sites had become weapons. The most important person in her life was missing, missing, missing…

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Chapter 2

Jalena Diamond, M.D. was known for her classy, elegant “dame with brain” demeanor. Shockingly beautiful and highly intelligent described her status. Her interests and training in preventive medicine and medical record review put her career at expert level.

She was different. To stand out she worked outstanding. Graduating cum laude from Medical University School of Medicine two years early allowed for an early career start.
Dr. Diamond felt her passions in life at an early age. Overcoming partial hearing loss and paralysis from meningitis at three years old were temporary roadblocks. A cochlear implant and superior sign language skills kept her going. The dancing skills and talent she inherited from her mother led to international travel and recognition as most of her teen years were spent abroad. This was the best job in the world, she often thought as she allowed herself to venture on Ventura Highway with daydreams of things unseen but hoped to come. Faith. Jalena loved the world stage. The best audiences in the world surrounded her.

J.L. Richardson, MD is a self-published author of Patient Handbook to Medical Care: Your Personal Health Guide, Bend of the River Books.

http://www.mypatienthandbook.blogspot.com/
www.twitter.com/drjfpmd

Book Feature: Tuatha and the Seven Sisters Moon by D.VonThaer

Welcome to this guest blog post with Tina Sue Ducrosse of Authors Promoting Authors. This is her feature of Tuatha and the Seven Sisters Moon by D. VonThaer.

Purchase Tuatha and the Seven Sisters Moon on September 25th 2009 and receive a free bookmark that matches the beautiful limited edition cover.

Author website & where to purchase the book: http://www.dvonthaer.com/


Book Description:

Julius Caesar wrote of the Celts: "The Celts were fearless warriors because they wish to inculcate this as one of their leading tenets, that souls do not become extinct, but pass after death from one body to another..."

Seven Sisters. The infamous collection of stars align with the full moon on Hallo’een, alighting the sky for a destiny that’s waited centuries. Dru, a gifted, but tormented witch living alone on the coast of Ireland wakes to find Ty, her long-time love, mysteriously disappeared. In Paris, Katerina, an oppressed but talented dancer bravely takes the stage in one final performance before escaping a life of tyranny, looking for a freedom she’d only known in dreams. Aodh, The Dagda, a man made of ancient legends, has slumbered for two millennia. Tonight, when the moon is full and the stars are aligned, he rises from his temporary grave to find the world is not as he remembers. His people, his family, his tribe have vanquished, along with the majority of his considerable power.

Chance takes him to Dru, and together they set out to find the key to reopening his world, whilst forming a bond of friendship neither has ever previously known. During their search, Dru learns Ty was no mortal man, but a god with a prophecy to fulfill. Ty died before fulfilling that prophecy, setting off a chain of events that would forever alter the future. Devastated, Dru abandons Aodh and the life that should have already been hers, and finds herself in the company of the worst sort. She begins a sordid affair with Kas, a daemon whose insatiable lust for power is only outdone by his lust for Dru.

Separated from the only friend he knows, Aodh is left to search the world alone for answers. He meets the young and beautiful dancer, Katerina, and is instantly smitten with her grace and purity. He stays near her, pretending to be mortal, gaining her friendship. But on Katerina’s birthday, just as Aodh is ready to concede to a life of mortality, Katerina is ripped from him by Kas. Aodh’s ideas on remaining mortal are no more; he has to unlock the secrets to his world that will open a trove of unimaginable power to save the two women he loves, before time is no longer in his favour, and he loses everything.

Purchase Tuatha and the Seven Sisters Moon on September 25th 2009 and receive a free bookmark that matches the beautiful limited edition cover.

Author website & where to purchase the book: http://www.dvonthaer.com/

Authors Promoting Authors http://authorspromotingauthors.blogspot.com/

This is a must read just in time for Halloween!

Blogs for Books

Blogs are a great tools for authors and publishers. The blog is an extension of your book. Information shared on the blog should accentuate your book and more importantly, your writing and publishing talents. If you are planning to write or are writing a book, it is a good idea to start your book blog before publishing due date.

Connect your blog links to your social media sites. For example, on Twitter showcase your blog with tweets routinely. Using blog posts makes for great tweets. Keep it fresh with new headlines on your tweets from the blog.

Blogging is a continuous writing exercise to enhance your talent. Be adventourous and have more than one on different topics. I have three including this one. All three are linked to Network Blogging on Facebook which gives friends the opportunity to read your blogs.

Check out health topics that will help you manage your health care, and make the best decision for you on the Patient Handbook to Medical Care: Your Personal Health Guide blog. The book prepares you for your doctor visit, getting your medical records, routine preventive medical testing and what the tests help you find, and more. The blog covers timely topics on H1N1 flu updates, preventive measures, preventing medication error, tips on saving your health dollars, patient-doctor communication, doctor visit tips, heath care reform, and more.

Check the blog at http://bit.ly/Dqta9 . Best Health and writing!

by J.L. Richardson, MD, author of the award winning Patient Handbook to Medical Care: Your Personal Health Guide". It was self published by Bend of the River Books. Miami, Fl.

http://www.mypatienthandbook.com/
www.twitter.com/MD4U
www.blogtalkradio.com/drjfpmd
http://www.emergencyexchange.blogspot.com/ (blog #3)

After the Manuscript: Publisher Choices

How good it feels to hold your completed manuscript in your hand, ready to send to publishers. Before you do that, consider self publishing your book.

Self publishing should be considered as a part of your overall plan. After many letters from prospective publishers telling me how good my book was, "but....not what we're looking for", I decided to seek out a company for self-publication. Thanks to the Internet I was able to do a lot of research to help me make my choice.

As a self publisher I have total control of my first masterpiece. This lends itself to the excitement of the whole process. Post publication activities are in your control as well. You do the marketing, public relations, scheduling, and all necessary to get your book out there until you are able to afford and find the right people you need. It is a full time job. So you thought writing was the hard part!

Self publishing is rather cost effective, too. For my 6 1/2" X 8"paperback, 112 page Patient Handbook to Medical Care: Your Personal Health Guide (www.mypatienthandbook.com), the cost in 2006 was about $12,000, now probably closer to $15,000 or more. Included in this price was everything - editing, book cover, ISBN, printing, shipping, mailing list, and more.

Writing is surely gratifying, but self publishing is nirvana. Consider this option for your masterpiece.