SHALLA CHATS with author Patricia M. Terrell

"Taking the Mystery Out of Promoting Your Book"

by Shalla De Guzman

 

First of all, who’s Patricia?

p.m.terrell is the author of 8 published books, including Take the Mystery out of Promoting Your Book, 3 internationally acclaimed suspense/thrillers (Ricochet, The China Conspiracy, and Kickback) and 4 non-fiction computer books.

PBS has featured two of her books on the show Perspective: Ricochet and The China Conspiracy. The exposure led to a number of Voice of America segments broadcast into Communist China about The China Conspiracy. She has also appeared on numerous television news programs, radio shows, and has been featured in more than four dozen newspaper articles. Reviews of her books have poured in throughout the United States, as well as France, India, and Australia.

Her 9th book is due for release this fall; it is an historical book entitled Songbirds are Free, about one of her ancestors who was abducted by Indians in 1780 and held in captivity for more than two years.

p.m., whose first name is Patricia, is the co-founder of The Book ‘Em Foundation, a non-profit partnership between law enforcement and authors to heighten public awareness of the correlation between high illiteracy rates and high crime rates. They hold annual book fairs in Waynesboro, Virginia and Lebanon, New Hampshire to raise money for literacy programs. The events feature about 70 authors who sign their books and participate in discussions and lectures.

Shalla: Hello Patricia, nice of you to be here. Please tell us about your latest book, Take the Mystery out of Promoting Your Book, and where we can get it.

Patricia: Take the Mystery out of Promoting Your Book fills a void—it’s designed to take a fiction writer step-by-step through promoting their books. When my first suspense/thriller, Kickback, was released, I think I bought every marketing and promotion book on the market! I found that most of the books were geared toward promoting non-fiction, especially those how-to books that you can build a business around. Promoting fiction is entirely different and requires some unique approaches.

I was promoting my second suspense, The China Conspiracy, when I met publisher Dave Smitherman with Palari Books. He said that everywhere he went, I had either just been there or was going to be there, and he knew I was a real go-getter with regard to promotion. So he asked me to write a book to help other authors.

Instead of just relying on what works for me, I decided to interview other fiction authors, book store management, and publicists. The result is a book that provides the good, the bad, the ugly, and the humorous from more than 20 contributors.

The book is available from amazon.com or directly from the publisher at PalariBooks.com. It is also available through any book store.

Shalla: Tell us about your Podcast on Author's Access. What are you podcasting? And what is Author’s Access?

Patricia: Author’s Access is a web site dedicated to helping authors; they feature articles and podcasts on how to find a publisher, how to get noticed in the industry, and other helpful publishing/writing topics. Irene Watson and Victor Volkman founded and operate Author’s Access, and they contacted me for an interview/podcast.

In the podcast, which is online now, they asked me about many of the principles outlined in my book, Take the Mystery out of Promoting Your Book—how to get media attention, speaking to schools, boosting sales at book signings, and using civic involvement to help your favorite cause and sell books at the same time. The podcast focuses on low or no-cost ways to promote your books.

Shalla: What do writers need to do a successful podcast?

Patricia: a podcast is just like a radio interview. The host contacts you before the show begins to do a voice check and go over the content. The podcast can be broadcast live or it can be taped and aired later.

Unless you are hosting the podcast, all the writer needs is a land-line telephone. (Cell phones don’t always have the clarity needed for quality sound.) There are several important differences between a podcast and a radio interview, however, which makes the podcast more advantageous: podcasts are available online, which means they are not limited to airwave range, the way radio stations are. This means your interview can be heard throughout the world. It is also archived. This means if someone misses your initial interview, they can logon and listen to it later.

This is a great advantage, because often your interview might initially air at a time that is inconvenient to the listeners. And because the podcast can be kept online indefinitely, the author can link to the podcast from various sites and continue to use it as a source of promotion.

Shalla: How can writers grab media attention?

Patricia:

 

 

I found that fiction writers have to think outside the box when promoting their work.

 

 

Too many writers issue a press release with their book’s plot. While the writer is undoubtedly proud of their work, often the media’s reaction is “who cares?”

In fact, recently I asked an author to give a talk and signing at my local library. I contacted the newspaper reporter who covers that “beat” and that was his exact response! He went on to tell me that her appearance in town “wasn’t newsworthy.” So I went back to the drawing board. I looked at the author’s book and at her web site, and I realized her book was historical fiction, it took place during the Revolutionary War, and she was also a reenactor. I also found out there was a large reenactment planned in our county within a week of her talk, and the same reporter was going to cover it. So I developed a list of interview questions that focused on her reenactment activities and I played up the historical significance of her book. The result was a two-page spread in the Sunday newspaper, complete with color photographs. And the talk not only attracted readers but reenactors as well—people who would not normally have gone to a book talk and signing.

So you have to look at your book the way a journalist would: why is it newsworthy? What can you focus on that makes it interesting to the audience?

The first time I appeared on the PBS show Perspective, I focused on the politics behind my suspense/thriller, The China Conspiracy. The show covers primarily Virginia politics, so I approached the producer based on the fact that my book focuses on the new electronic voting technology, how security flawed it is, and how Johns Hopkins University had recently completed a study that found “it was so security flawed, even a foreign government could easily infiltrate our election system and rig our elections” –the exact premise of my book. Later, when Ricochet was released, it again dealt with a hot issue—illegal immigration, our porous borders, and the security issues it raises, including terrorism. This made it newsworthy.

The movie Titanic is a love story. What made it a blockbuster was the backdrop—the actual sinking of the Titanic.

 

If a writer is currently working on a book, think of ways that historical events or newsworthy subjects can be woven into the storyline.

 

Shalla: Are all types of media equal? I mean, would you say it is better to get a television interview instead of print or online?

Patricia: I know a lot of writers who go after television because of the status symbol. But I have found advantages and disadvantages with all of the media, so I focus on a well-rounded publicity campaign that includes television, radio, newspapers or magazines, and online exposure.

Television is great. But you have to consider the time of day you’ll be on and the type of show. I was fortunate to have two 30-minute PBS shows that are occasionally rerun. There are also news programs—morning news, noon, and evening newscasts. But one of the fleeting things about television is if someone misses the broadcast, sometimes it’s never re-aired. It’s also difficult to put it into a press kit—though I did find a way to do it: I obtained a video of my appearance, ran the video on my television set, and hit the “pause” button when I was on screen. Then I took a picture of the screen, put that picture in a Word document, and provided a couple of paragraphs about my interview that discussed the date, station, host, and general information.

 

I like radio because I can do an interview from anywhere in the country.

 

All I need is a good telephone connection. Radio interviews are often longer than the 2-or-3-minute segments TV news often provides. I have found the best radio exposure is during drive time, especially if you are broadcasting into a populated area where people are sitting in traffic with nothing else to do but listen to the radio. However, if your interview is missed, it often is not re-aired.

 

I get more mileage out of printed articles, because I can copy them and add them to my press kit. They come in very handy when I am scheduling book signings and the store management wants information they can use to advertise my upcoming appearance. Don’t overlook free community newspapers; they are often looking for good stories to cover, they enjoy writing about local personalities, and when you copy the article and add it to your press kit, no one knows how small the newspaper is! And many free community papers have a great circulation; otherwise, they couldn’t stay in business. I also found with the release of my first suspense/thriller, Kickback, that it can be difficult to get larger newspapers to take notice. But once I started building up my press kit with smaller newspapers’ articles, I sent it to the mid-size and larger newspapers, and they ended up covering me, too!

I strongly recommend an online presence, as well.

 

Every serious author needs a web site.

 

It should be updated frequently and have links to online articles and podcasts that feature you, as well as list upcoming appearances. I also like to list my past appearances; it helps when scheduling additional book signings for store owners to see that I have already been signing in their chain or competitors’ stores.

 

Shalla: Any tips on increasing our Amazon presence?

Patricia: There are so many things a writer can do to increase their amazon presence. In the April/May edition of my free ezine through mysterypromotion.com, I detailed a way to use your Profile to your advantage.

Everyone who has a user name and password on amazon has a profile; most people never even look at it. But the next time you log on to your amazon account, look for the link at the top of the screen called “Your Profile” and click on it. At the very least, you should upload a promotional photo of yourself, and add a tag line. The tag line is a short sentence that shows up every time you review a book. Mine says “Internationally acclaimed author of Ricochet, The China Conspiracy and Kickback.” Every time I post a review on amazon, the same tag line shows up, with a link back to my profile and to my books. And when my next book comes out, I can change my tag line on my Profile page, and it will automatically update every instance where my tag line is used!

You should use this to your advantage: review books similar to yours, in places your target market might find themselves. And if you review enough books, you can even be selected to appear along the right margin of the main amazon screen.

When you appear on podcasts or online interviews, link back to your amazon page featuring your book. And always check your books’ pages to make sure the information is correct—your name, the book title, ISBN, price, publisher, etc. Encourage people to post reviews. They help to sell books. And if you don’t have a “Search Inside the Book” feature, check with your publisher to get that information submitted. It’s easy to do, and it increases the hits on your book pages—when people search for a particular topic, the amazon computer actually searches every page of your book.

 

Shalla: How many reviews does a writer need to write to get a better ranking on Amazon?

Patricia: Once you’ve written at least one hundred reviews, you can really begin to experience more hits on your Profile page, which leads to more hits on your book pages.

However, if you don’t have the time to write one hundred reviews, target the books that are similar to yours, within the same genre, or that compliment your book. Once you’ve written at least 500 reviews, you get into an exclusive set of amazon reviewers, and when you’ve reached the Top 1000, you can be picked to appear on their home page.

Just be kind when reviewing books. You certainly don’t have to give every book a five-star rating, but remember, the author of that book could be dependent upon that book’s income—or their next contract could depend on good ratings. So be truthful but don’t blast a book unless you want your review to be reciprocated!

Shalla: What is a “book signing table cloth”?

Patricia: Often, an author shows up at a book store signing to find that they are provided with a four- or six-foot table and a chair. And that’s it. So the challenge becomes, how can I attract the attention of someone across the store without seeming as if I’m accosting them? One of the ways I manage this is to use a book signing tablecloth. An example of mine is shown on my web site at mysterypromotion.com. I buy an inexpensive tablecloth—my last one cost around six dollars—and I buy a package of t-shirt iron-on paper from the local office supply store. I get my publisher to email me an electronic copy of my book’s front cover, and I print it out on the t-shirt transfer. Then I lay out my book covers on the tablecloth where the image can be seen when the cloth is draped over the table—where your legs would appear under the table if the cloth wasn’t there. I iron them on, and for less than twenty dollars, I have something that can catch the eye of potential buyers.

The trick is to get an 8.5 x 11 inch image, or close to it. That way, it can easily be seen across a room. Last year at the Book ‘Em events in Virginia and New Hampshire, we had approximately 70 authors in school gymnasiums. I was the only one who had a book signing tablecloth. I could see people walk into the room, their eyes quickly peruse the number of authors there, and make a beeline toward my table. Many of these people did not know me; they were attracted by the professional-looking image of my books. And for those who knew me, I was easy to find!

Shalla: What are the best and the worst places to do a book signing? Would any place where you can set up a table be good enough? Why or why not?

Patricia: In my book, Take the Mystery out of Promoting Your Book, I actually have a section about how “not all book stores are created equal” –and I’ve found that, unfortunately, some stores are simply not worth the author’s time. There is one chain that is prohibited from displaying any posters, including those that would advertise your upcoming signing. In contrast, there is a competing chain that has a centralized graphics department; they do a full color poster for each author’s upcoming appearance, and they use special displays so there are copies of your books right under the poster.

 

At a book signing, you should actually get three opportunities to sell your books: before your appearance, during your signing time, and after your appearance.

 

So you want to make sure the stores you’re scheduled in have a special display of your books at least a week or two before your signing; many times, I’ve sold out before my signing date! Then of course, during your signing. And when your time in the store is up, ask if you can sign additional copies for a special display for the days or week after your event.

One chain told me their policy is to keep the books in a special stockroom until the author shows up for their signing. Then after the signing, they bundle the unsold books and return them to the publisher or wholesaler immediately. So always ask, and concentrate on those stores that provide you with the most in-house publicity.

I also ran across an author recently who thought the only time that was worthwhile for a signing was early on a Saturday afternoon. Never assume—always ask. The answer could be surprising. I was scheduled for a signing once on a Friday night from 9 pm to 11 pm because the mall closed at 9 pm and the book store, which was across the street, was flooded with customers. I sold out within an hour.

Shalla: Lastly, any other tips on how to take the mystery out of promoting our book/s?

Patricia: There are hundreds of ways you can promote yourself. I started out trying everything—kind of the shotgun approach. Now, after six years of promoting, I know what works and what hasn’t. I hope I save other fiction authors a lot of time and effort by providing all of the information in one place (my book) that I spent years trying to learn on my own. And with the added experience of other successful authors, book store management, and publicists, I think the strategies outlined are real winners. When my next book is released, I will be using those steps to boost my own book sales! And as I find more tips and techniques, I am publishing them in a monthly, free ezine through mysterypromotion.com.

Shalla: Thanks so much Patricia, wonderful tips!

For more on Patricia M. Terrell, please visit www.pmterrell.com and www.mysterypromotion.com

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Shalla DeGuzman's short stories have appeared in Poetic Diversity, the Mad Hatters Review, etc.; her articles in The Scriptorium and L.A. Freepress; her skits at the Stella Adler Theatre. Shalla, a former writer and producer of a health and fitness cable show, is currently writing a novel. She is President of The ShallaDeGuzman Writers Group where she interviews literary agents, publishers, editors, etc. News! Shalla DeGuzman gets nominated for the prestigious Pushcart Prize! Plus! SHALLA Magazine, which features short stories, poetry and more, is here! For more on Shalla: www.shalladeguzman.com

 

 

 

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