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What does every good marketer really do? He creates relationships. She make friends. When you begin to think of marketing in this way, everything about marketing becomes more fun. Suddenly there is no foreignness, no fear, no feelings of inadequacy. We can all make friends. It's a talent we've had since we were little children. Use it.

Always do your best. And always, always have fun.

Monday, April 07, 2008

5 Ways Authors Can Profit from Linked In

Here's a great article from Mahesh Grossman:

LinkedIn, the social network for professionals, just changed my life.

To be honest, until a few weeks ago, I never took it seriously. From time to time a friend or an acquaintance would ask me to link with them, and I would, but I didn't understand what to do with my network. In fact, I'm not sure I ever invited anyone to link with me.

Now I understand some of the power of this tool -- and it's especially useful for authors. So here are five ways you can use LinkedIn to help you write, publish, and promote your book:

1) Ask for help with your content, including websites and people to interview.

LinkedIn has a feature where you get to ask questions, either of your network or of people in a particular industry. I am working on an ebook that will be a list of a particular group of sites. I asked the network where to find more of these sites and I got an amazing response that made this ebook my top priority. But you could also ask a question like "Do you know how I could find people to interview for my book who have a successful arranged marriage?". Not only would you get suggestions on where to find people to interview, anyone with a successful arranged marriage would be likely to offer to be interviewed.

It's also possible that people have already asked questions on your topic, so if you search the Answers section using appropriate keywords, you are likely to find some usable information as well.

2) Get introduced to famous authors and ask for testimonials.

I am shocked at how many famous authors are on LinkedIn. I have a few bestelling authors as direct links myself -- and I am only one introduction away, meaning someone in my network can introduce me -- from several authors who have sold more than ten million books -- and there aren't that many authors who have done that. So if you were to join LinkedIn and link to me, you would be one level away from the bestselling authors I know, and two people away from these authors who have sold massive quantities of books. That's pretty amazing. So if you have high quality work that has been vetted by a professional coach (one that has been published by traditional publishers!), you could approach a very big name author through LinkedIn.

3) Have a particular agent you want to be introduced to? There are 326 agents on LinkedIn.

I did a search on the term "literary agent" and found 326. I wouldn't try to get introduced to all of them, but you do your homework and find a particular agent that is the most likely to be interested in your work, it could be a good way to make a connection. Once again, you have to really have studied the publishing business and know what you are doing to make this work. But it is an interesting strategy. (And I know of a number of editors from major publishing houses who are also on LinkedIn.)

4) Want publicity? There are lots of periodical editors and TV producers you can network with.

I know several publicists on LinkedIn, and some are connected to top editors and producers. Want to get in Time magazine or Sports Illustrated? There are writers and editors from those publications. Want to get on national television? Once again, you can reach out and try to connect with these folks, who are also on LinkedIn.

5) Want to connect to people who might help market your book? Ask the right question.

Once again, LinkedIn Answers gives you the opportunity to ask how to do something, and let people volunteer to help you. Ask a question like "I'm the author of a book about living a balanced life. I would like to be interviewed on 50 teleseminars this year. How do I find people who might want to host me on a teleseminar?" Whatever your goal is, ask how you can do it, or find people to help you. Some good Samaritans will come forward and say, "I'd be happy to have you on a teleseminar."

So those are five ways to work with LinkedIn.com. The bigger your network, easier it is to get help.

=====

Mahesh Grossman is the author of Write a Book Without Lifting a Finger (http://www.writeabooktoday.com) and president of The Authors Team (http://www.AuthorsTeam.com), a company that helps credible business experts become incredible business authors, through ghostwriting, editing, coaching, publishing, publicity and marketing. For a free list of more than 400 agents as well as a newsletter with tips on planning, writing, publishing and marketing your book, go to http://www.getanagentnow.com.

Meanwhile, check out John Kremer's LinkedIn page and become a friend: http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnkremer.

Labels: editors, LinkedIn, literary agents, media

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Regnery Publishing: Boon & Bane, Part II

Well, now Alfred Regnery, former publisher at Regnery (and still a board member), now calls the lawsuit by the disgruntled authors frivolous. Here's what he said in his blog at the American Spectator, where he is now publisher:

"The merits of the lawsuit are hardly worth discussing. To anyone in the book publishing industry they're laughable. I'm a lawyer and know that the contracts they signed are clear and transparent, and are similar to the contracts used throughout the industry. I also know that Regnery puts marketing muscle and expertise behind its books like nobody else in the business -- something that each of the five authors involved benefited from enormously. These disgruntled authors are, perversely, complaining about that muscle. But it's one of the reasons why Regnery has the success it does in putting conservative books where the New York Times doesn't want them -- on its bestseller list."

One, he is correct, Regnery has put a lot of conservatives on the bestseller list. In that sense, they are a boon to conservative authors.

But, two, Regnery, like so many of the larger publishers, offers a contract that is not at all clear or transparent. Regnery should not get off the hook for offering a bad contract to authors. Neither should any of the other large publishers. They offer bad contracts that no author should sign without heavy negotiation. Agents have been doing authors a huge disservice for years allowing authors to sign such author-unfriendly contracts.

Regnery failed to discuss at all the central points of the lawsuit: the self-selling of Regnery books to Eagle at discounts that offer the authors little to no royalty. These sales do not affect the New York Times list. They are simply ways for Regnery to take advantage of authors who sign contracts that are not in any way clear, especially when publishers sell books to themselves at discounts totally out of range of honest business practices.

Posh, again, on Regnery for such self-serving deals.

Posh, again, on the authors for not reading their contracts more carefully and signing what they did. Al is correct in saying that the contracts they signed "are similar to the contracts used throughout the industry." As an industry member, I am not at all proud of that statement. Regnery should also be ashamed.

Posh, again, on the agents that allow authors to sign such bad contracts.

I really do wish publishers would treat authors better. That is the one point Regnery completely ignored. Why would he be happy that the key contributors to the content Regnery publishes are unhappy? What does that say about him as a board member? Let's call the authors fools so we don't have to deal with them anymore. Sad.

Labels: agents, author contracts, authors, bad contracts, book authors, literary agents, Regnery, small book publishers

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Regnery: A Boon and a Bane

Conservative book publisher Regnery is being sued by some of its bestselling authors because it doesn't play fair with them. Regnery gives its authors a paltry, paltry, paltry royalty on books it sells to itself or gives away to its customers (via its Eagle-affiliated sister companies). Now the authors are mad and suing Regnery.

Posh on Regnery for giving publishers a bad name. Their treatment of authors on this issue is shameful. And then a lawyer for Regnery had the temerity to say, "These disgruntled authors object to marketing strategies used by all major book publishers that have proved successful time and again as witnessed by dozens of Regnery bestsellers." When what the authors objected to was not the marketing, but the self-dealing, author-robbing, underhanded, bogus deals Regnery makes with its sister companies.

Posh, of course, on the authors for signing such bad contracts in the first place. When are authors actually going to read the contracts publishers give them and negotiate the hell out of those contracts. Because, believe me, every publishing contract offered by a big publisher is full of such self-dealing, author-robbing, underhanded dealings -- even when those publishers are not selling to themselves like Regnery/Eagle does.

I don't object to publishers robbing authors blind -- if they admit to doing so. But they never do. Personally, I believe authors deserve such underhandedness for their inability to read and negotiate decent contracts.

Posh, of course, also to the agents that let authors sign such contracts. Posh, and be gone to such agents. Posh, posh, and be gone.

Well, now that I've angered authors, publishers, and agents, I guess I should attack the media and booksellers as well. That way I could get everyone in the industry mad at me. But I won't. At least not today.

Labels: agents, author contracts, authors, contracts, Eagle Publishing, literary agents, Regnery

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John Kremer

I am the author of many books including 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, The Do-It-Yourself Book Publicity Kit, and many other titles. I also developed the New York Times Bestseller Program to help authors become bestselling book authors. I often speak on book marketing, book publishing, writing, branding, and book and website rights.

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