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 Teach through adult education programs Throughout the country, community colleges and other organizations spon- sor hundreds of organized adult education and continuing education pro- grams. These programs hire experts, authors, and industry leaders to teach a wide range of classes, workshops, and seminars. Students register and pay for your class, which can be a one-time seminar or a class that spans three to eight weeks (based on your topic). In addition to being paid to teach the class, you can sell your book to students who use that book in the class, and you benefit from the exposure you receive by being promoted as an instructor in the course catalog, promotional mailings, and advertising done by the adult education program. Some authors even create one course or workshop curriculum based on their book, and then they work as an instructor for multiple adult education pro- grams in various regions, ensuring an ongoing income stream. To become an instructor for an adult educat...

 Timing your campaign Timing is a critical component for any ad campaign. If your ads start running too early, before the book is published and readily available, people won’t be able to find it right away and could forget about it. Ideally, you want ads for your book to run at the same time the book is available, so when readers order a copy, they can expect to receive it quickly, or they can go to the book- store and purchase a copy right away. Proper timing of your paid advertising campaign means coordinating the ads to run around the same time as the free publicity you generate (see Chapters 18 and 19 for more about publicity), as well as in conjunction with any other marketing and promotional activities you’re planning. Ideally, readers should be exposed to as many impressions of your book as possible. As you decide where to place your ads, consider lead times carefully. In terms of print publications, don’t get caught up on issue dates. Focus on the street date for each issue...

 Answering important questions about your book Whichever advertising medium you ultimately use, the advertising message you convey must quickly and powerfully answer the questions: who, what, where, when, why, and how. At the same time, the message needs to focus on the potential reader’s wants and needs. While making sure that your ad appeals to your target audience, the ad must also quickly answer a number of questions. Here are some of those questions: -  What are you offering? In this case, you’re offering a book. People need to know that. -  What’s the book about? In one sentence or less, successfully and suc- cinctly summarize what your book is all about. -  Who will be interested in reading it and why? Focus on what your book’s target audience will want to know about your book. -  What does the book offer to its readers? Does your book offer exclu- sive or valuable content? If so, your ad needs to bring this fact to the attention of potential readers. - ...

 Throw me a pitch: Hiring an advertising agency Creating an effective advertising campaign requires an understanding of how advertising works, an intimate understanding of what you’re trying to sell, and a strong knowledge about the people you’re trying to reach. Working with a rep- utable advertising agency to help you advertise your book could be an extremely good investment. An advertising agency has the following roles: -  Helps you determine the target audience for your book -  Figures out how to reach your audience -  Creates an advertising campaign that fits within your budget -  Deals with each media outlet directly to coordinate your advertising -  Handles the creation or production of your actual ads Advertising agencies charge different fee struc- tures, depending on the types of services offered. Your best bet is to sit down with several advertising agencies in your area and hear their pitches. In those pitches, you need to look for an understan...

 Matching potential readers to specific media outlets Paid advertising can be used effectively by a self-published author or publish- ing company if you focus your advertising dollars and resources on niche advertising: finding media outlets that specifically target only those people you believe are potential readers for your book. Sure, it would be a great boost to your ego to see a full-page ad for your book in the New York Times, Time, or People, but for many self-published authors, this isn’t cost-effective or practical. Niche advertising may include advertising on specific (local or regional) radio or television shows, in special interest magazines and newspapers, and/or within specialized newsletters or Web sites. See the previous section for details on different outlets for advertising. For example: If you’ve written a cookbook that teaches the art of Italian cook- ing, advertising in Time magazine or Business Week will be expensive and not allow you to reach your intended ...

 Deciding Where to Advertise to Reach Your Target Audience Before launching an advertising campaign for your book, determine exactly who the target audience is for your book, and then figure out the best adver- tising vehicles to potentially use to reach that audience. To successfully make this determination, you need to understand the daily habits of your audience, know what media they’re exposed to, and then determine how you can best spend your advertising dollars to reach those people using the appropriate forms of media. There is no such thing as an all-in-one solution for creating an advertising campaign or even a single effective ad. Every situation is different, based on the type of book you’re trying to sell, the audience you’re trying to reach, your budget, the geographic area(s) you’re planning to target, and your time frame. If you choose to use paid advertising, focus on what you’re trying to accomplish, and then research the best ways to achieve those objectives. In ...

 Your ad may be lost in the crowd An ad can get easily lost in the bombardment of advertising people are con- stantly exposed to. Every day, you’re flooded with advertising. It’s literally everywhere. Companies do just about anything to capture your attention, even for a split second, to promote its message. Because you’re exposed to so much daily advertising, many of you may automatically phase it out of your minds. Imagine yourself reading a magazine or newspaper and skipping over the ads or pulling out those little insert cards and throwing them into the trash. When you listen to the radio or watch TV, do you switch the sta- tion/channel when the ads come on? Because of these habits, advertisers have an even harder job of promoting their products. When the roles are reversed and you become the advertiser, you have to find innovative ways to communicate your message so people pay attention to when it’s seen or heard. For paid advertising to work, you need to -  Create a high...

 Your outfit Feeling stumped about what to wear? Try the following tips: -  Choose a stylish outfit, keeping in mind the image you’re trying to convey. For example, dress more formally for a business or news-oriented show and casually for an upbeat morning show. Overall, try to dress along the same lines as the host(s). -  Make sure that everything fits you perfectly and is wrinkle-free and looks good on you — not just the mannequin in the store. -  Pay attention to colors and patterns. Never wear busy patterns or solid white on television. Your objective is to look good, not to make a fashion statement like those celebrities waltzing down the red carpet at an awards show. If necessary, think about what Joan Rivers would say about your outfit if she were to see you on TV and rate your outfit like she does with celebrities. Would you make her best or worst dressed list? If you’re having trouble deciding on an outfit, read a few current issues of fashion magazines and ...

 to confuse them with inappropriate questions. This is showbiz. Your best bet is to go along with the antics, but stay focused on getting your mes- sage out to the public. Promote your book, but try to have fun. You always have the option of not answering a question or changing the topic during an interview. Don’t get agitated or lash out at the interviewer. -  Coming across as too nervous, unprepared, offensive, or confronta- tional: The best way to avoid this is to prepare and rehearse (see “Anticipating and preparing for basic questions,” earlier in this chapter). Take deep breaths and speak normally. -  Cutting off the interviewer in mid-sentence as she asks a question, because you’re able to anticipate what’s about to be asked: You may be asked the same questions over and over again. Even if you’ve heard that same question a hundred times, it’s the first time that particular interviewer has asked it and the first time that audience will be hearing it. Allow the inter...

 Developing sound bites Most television and radio interviews last only three to five minutes. You need to convey a lot of information, without speaking too quickly. The best way to do this is to speak in what the media industry calls sound bites. For every question, provide a comprehensive answer that lasts between 5 and 15 sec- onds (that’s fewer than 50 words). By anticipating what questions you may be asked (see the previous section) and knowing your subject matter well, you can write answers out ahead of time that communicate the necessary information but that are very concise. Answering a question in a sound bite means using as few words as possible. In other words, don’t babble or ramble on. Answer the question, get your key point across, and wait for the next question. Don’t go off on tangents. Discovering how to speak in sound bites ensures that you can answer the maximum number of interview questions in the time allotted, giving you greater opportunity to promote yourself ...

 Writing a Knockout Pitch Letter A pitch letter accompanies a press kit; it introduces you and briefly states why you’re sending the press kit and what it contains. In other words, pitch your story in a way that perfectly addresses an audience interest as it relates to you and your book. Personalize the pitch letter to a specific person. As you write the letter, make sure that it addresses the needs of the person you’re sending it to and that the information you’re sending is normally covered. For example, if your book is about sports, don’t send your press kit and letter to the lifestyle editor or even the managing editor of a newspaper. Address your packet directly to the sports editor. See “Starting a target press list,” later in this chapter, for more. Write your pitch letter in a traditional business letter style and keep the length under one page. Here’s what the format should include: -  First paragraph: Introduce your book. -  Second paragraph: Talk about why you’...

 Meet a literary agent Jeff Herman is the president of the Jeff Herman Agency (Web site: www.jeffherman.com). He’s represented authors as a literary agent since 1987 and is responsible for helping to bring more than 500 books into print. He’s also the author of Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, & Literary Agents (Three Dog Press) and Write the Perfect Book Proposal (Wiley). Herman has worked with many first-time authors. For someone interested in getting a book pub- lished, he recommends using a literary agent but stresses the importance of finding the right agent. “Most literary agencies are mom-and-pop busi- nesses that employ less than 10 people. Each agent is individually quirky and has his own taste and preferences. An agent who’s successful is by definition someone who’s very selective about the authors and projects he chooses to represent. So most agents, including myself, wind up rejecting over 90 percent of the proposals we see. An agent builds up his cr...

 “Sorry, not interested”: Handling rejection Getting your book published by a major company is a competitive process. Publishers are becoming much more careful about the projects they publish and how resources are allocated. Unless you’re a celebrity, a well-known busi- ness leader, a juror in a high-profile trial, or a recognized expert in your field and there’s a potentially large market for your book, capturing the attention of a publisher, especially a large publisher, is going to be difficult. With that said, though, being able to submit a self-published copy of your book with your proposal when contacting a publisher certainly gives you some added credibility. But remember that no matter how good your self- published book really is and how professional your proposal comes across, not all publishers jump at what you’re offering. So, expect some rejection when you submit your proposal to publishers. With rejection comes perseverance (that’s perseverance on your part). Submit yo...

 Examining different publishing deals Just as there are thousands of publishers, as well as imprints and subsidiaries within those publishers, there are many types of publishing deals that can be structured. If you’re working with a literary agent, he can help you evaluate and negotiate the best deal possible. The four most common scenarios are -  The publisher pays a one-time, flat fee for the manuscript and becomes the sole copyright owner of the material. You provide the manuscript on a work-for-hire basis. -  The publisher pays a licensing fee to print copies of your self-published book. -  The publisher pays an advance, plus royalties on all copies of the book sold. This means you’d receive money upfront and ongoing royalty payments based on sales of your book. The advance is usually fully recoupable from future sales. (When you receive an advance, that money is deducted from your initial book sales. Think of your advance as a loan against your future income. I...

 Two popular directories list details about book publishers. -  Writer’s Market (Writer’s Digest Books): This directory is published annually. It offers a comprehensive list of 4,000 potential markets for writers, including book publishers. Each listing describes the types of books a publisher specializes in, along with relevant contact information and submission guidelines. -  Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, & Literary Agents (Three Dogs Press): This annual directory is available in bookstores. After you’ve created a list of potential publishers to target, determine who the acquisitions editor is at each publishing company, subsidiary, and/or imprint. This person is your ultimate contact. Initiate contact by making a telephone call to the acquisitions editor. During this call, introduce yourself, describe your book in 30 seconds or less, and determine if there’s a potential interest. If so, follow up by sending a full proposal. If you have an agent r...

 Doing the paperwork Every business requires its operators to handle a variety of different types of paperwork to track customers, record orders, process those orders, and manage finances. Proper recordkeeping is essential. To handle much of your recordkeeping and paperwork, you can use a com- prehensive, vertical market software application designed for mail-order businesses, off-the-shelf contact management and accounting software, or online tools provided by the eCommerce Internet Service Provider (ISP) you opt to work with (I cover eCommerce Web sites earlier in this chapter). These online tools help you manage customer records and the paperwork associated with all aspects of order fulfillment. Of course, you can always do your recordkeeping the old-fashioned way — using paper, pencil, and a calcu- lator, if you’re not technologically savvy. ACT! is a powerful contact management software application available from Sage Software that allows you to keep track of customers, print ...