Set up book readings and signings

Hello,

Let's talk a bit about how to begin marketing your book.  Hopefully by now you have made some sales to your close circle of friends, family, and local shops etc.  This will give you some great feedback and the confidence to start setting up readings and signings.  Bonus:  You can sell signed copies when you do readings (unless the place you're reading at sells them).

Remember, when you are reading to kids and trying to keep them engaged you have to be outgoing,  comical, animated and get them involved when possible.  There is nothing more boring then someone who just blandly reads the book.  You can be sure to see some restless audience members.

Create and distribute marketing materials cross-promoting your reading and book title with the place you will be doing the reading.  Create a win-win, meaning your presence and reading will give you and the store more exposure.  Start by searching for places you think would be a good fit do to your reading.  Just pick up the phone or go in person and talk to the decision maker about doing a reading or fun event there.  Let them know you will be marketing on their behalf and that you will provide a unique and fun experience.  

Send the info for reading via your social media platforms, print appropriately sized marketing materials and hand them out, ask local stores to keep them at register etc. Get the word out there.

Get creative with how you read your book to kids. Kids love to laugh and be engaged so try to bring them into the story if you can.  It can be as simple as asking them to make sounds during certain parts of the book, clap their hands, yell whooohoo...anything that makes them feel included.  I promise once you have done your first reading you will never want to stop!

Check back soon for tips on how to get media coverage for your book and how to build a great social media platform.

Don't for to WRITE, WRITE, WRITE

JACI

Your first book sales

Hello,

Let's say you secured the appropriate financing and your book has been printed.  First of all.....I want to congratulate you on this major accomplishment.  I know it has been no easy task to get this far.  So, take a minute and remember that you did it!  Now it is time to sell your book and start making money.

A few entries back I wrote about creating your layers of supporters, backers, family and friends.  It is time to convert those people into your first customers.  I was thrilled to be able to deliver signed books to my backers who in many cases ended up ordering additional copies to give as gifts.  I started getting emails from people all over the country who had received the book as a gift and wanted to let me know they loved it!  I received this picture and a thank you from a family that got the book as a gift from a dear friend and backer of mine.  He even took it to show and tell!

I asked several shops I frequent and store owners I know if they would kindly display my book with cards in front.  I started making sales in places you might never think you would sell your book.  I quickly learned that in those places it is more of an impulse buy than a planned one.  Nonetheless, they are still sales and you are getting your book out there.

Set up a few readings to kick off your sales and overall awareness of you and your book.  This will help generate excitement about buying your book.  If it is interesting and people like it they will definitely tell their friends about you!

While these early and direct sales will hopefully cause a spike in your sales, you should also expect that to plateau.  When this happens you need to have a very definitive plan in place to diversify your sales and distribution channels.  But I will get into that in more detail in my next entries.

Don't forget to WRITE, WRITE, WRITE!

JACI
 

Pug Story website is live

Good Morning,

I hope all of you had a great turkey day!  I will be giving some tips an helpful info on marketing your book in my next entry.  Since I have started this blog some of you have contacted me to say that now you too will be writing and self-publishing your own book....YOU CAN DO IT!!!!

I am proud to share our new and updated website with you: www.pugstory.com where you can purchase a copy of "Chloey's BIG Move" and learn more about the series and other fun info.  I am so thankful to those of you who have contacted me and hope you like the site and love the book!

And don't forget to just WRITE, WRITE, WRITE!

JACI

Pug Story has arrived!

Hi there,

I will keep this short and sweet.  I felt it only appropriate to share with all of you who have continued to read my blog (as some of you have mentioned that you are now starting on your own book) some great news!

My book is out and will be on shelves here in local Chicago stores in the next week or two and by the end of this week our updated website will be live at www.pugstory.com  It is the most amazing feeling to see all of your hard work come to life and hold a beautiful book in your hands that you helped create!  If I can do it.... so can you! People's faces light up when they see it and trust me....there are few better feelings than making someone smile.  Never give up on your dreams!

My next entries will discuss how to market your book and get it out there into the world.

And don't forget to just WRITE, WRITE, WRITE!

JACI

Bank financing for your book and business part III

Hi there,

Hopefully by now you have reached out to your most inner circle of friends and family for the initial capital to self-publish your book.  Maybe you have even posted your project on a crowd funding site like: www.kickstarter.com, www.indiegogo.com, www.rockethub.com, or www.startupaddict.com (there are many more but those are a few that tend to focus a bit more on creative projects).  The good news is that in doing this you will expand your reach, grow awareness about your book and business, and raise money without giving up too much on your end, like royalties or equity in your business.

Self-publishing, marketing, and selling your book will not be cheap.  Aside from the hard cost of creating and printing your book, the business side of things can get costly.  To market and sell your book you may decide to have your own website with E-commerce capability, optimize your site, create marketing materials, purchase software like Quick Books, Sales Force, Constant Contact, or others like those.  You will want to protect your intellectual property, pay vendors on time, ship products, and manage any additional overhead you may incur.

While it is true that obtaining institutional financing for a new business is much more difficult these days, it is not impossible.  I would start by talking to someone at your bank who handles business loans etc.  I know from experience that Chase bank has a strong relationship with the SBA (Small Business Administration) www.sba.gov which is a great resource.  Even if you are not a candidate at that moment you will learn what you need to do to become one in the future.

If you are a homeowner it may not be out of the question to pull some equity out of your home to offset some of your business costs.  Give your mortgage broker or banker a call to see if this is a viable option for you.  To learn a little bit more about what that will mean check out the site; www.getsmart.com.

There are organizations, both private and government that, believe it or not, are still allocating funds to small businesses.  It is up to us to find the right one for our needs.  For example, as a female business owner you can apply to join the WBENC (Women's Business Enterprise National Council) www.wbenc.org.  The same goes for other "minority" owned businesses, so take a look at; www.ethnicmajority.com to learn more.

Since we are writers we have an ability to effectively articulate our project, needs, and capabilities.  There are grants being given around the world and knowing which one is right for you coupled with writing a great grant proposal could certainly give you an edge.  To better familiarize yourself with the process and identify active organizations offering grants take a look at; www.businessgrants.org

YOU CAN DO IT!  And remember to just WRITE, WRITE, WRITE!

JACI

Crowd funding-raising funds for your book part II

Hi,

Hopefully by now you have created your database as best you can, and have reached out to your family and close friends for financial support to get your book project off the ground.

CROWD FUNDING is a great platform to get your message and details of your book out to a much larger pool of people than you might normally reach.  Not to mention that people from all over the world have the chance to learn about your book and become a "backer" and donate to your project. I posted Pug Story on a the crowd funding site:  www.kickstarter.com to kick off my campaign and raise funds.

www.kickstarter.com, and others like it, are a great tool for people like us who want to make, create, or further an existing project.  These crowd funding platforms connect us with generous and philanthropic people who want to support us.

It is not like taking in an equity investor or anything like that. You are not selling a part of your company but rather rewarding your "backer" with something to thank them for their donation.  You set the denominations like $5, $25, $50, $100 and so on.  For example, depending on how much they donated I offered a reward like a signed copy of my book or a rendering of their child or pet from my illustrator, even an in person reading of my book.   Get creative but don't break the bank.  Make sure your cash flow can sustain the rewards...it would be terrible if the donations came in and went right back out, so really think about what you can afford to offer.

Kickstarter is an ALL OR NOTHING type of funding platform so please take the time to go through the kickstarter school to learn about how best to post your project and do's and dont's. Google other crowd funding sites to learn about how their platforms work and what kinds of projects they might seem to hi-light.  I did not hit my goal BUT....I maintained my database of backers, continued to reach out to them and update them and raised over $3,000 by doing that.  My tenacity and conviction to continue the project after not reaching my goal gave people confidence that I would complete the task and make the book, and some people even increased their donation.  Put yourself out there and start letting people know about you and your project.  YOU CAN DO IT!

And don't forget to WRITE, WRITE, WRITE!

JACI

Raising funds for your book part 1

Hi there,

It has been too long since my last post and for that I am sorry.  I have been busy getting my book ready to go to the printer. Even though it has been a crazy time, it has been an awesome and exciting time!  I can't wait for you to know the feeling.  The feeling of seeing all your hard work come to fruition and knowing you are doing what you love.  You can do it!  Ok..back to the topic of beginning your initial fundraising efforts.

Hopefully by now you have a good idea about what kind of book, characters, storyline and product you will be developing, who your target audience and market are, what kind of vendors you will use, and who your team members will be.  In addition to all the work you have done relative to the above tasks as well as write your book, you will have to think about the funds it will take to make your dream a reality.  Some of us may be in a position to self fund a project like this; some of us may not.

There are many accessible ways to gain different kinds of funding for your project but for this entry I would like to focus on creating your database and begin reaching out to your friends and family.  Create groups for the people you know.  It is like thinking about an onion and its many layers.  Your groups of people range from acquaintances to family members.

People that know you well and know your project more intimately (the inner layers) are often more likely to contribute financially to your project in the beginning.  This is a great way to gain momentum in your fundraising efforts and begin to pay for your start up costs like a video, prototype, and maybe even initial payments to your vendors.  This shows people who might not know you or don't know you well (the outer layers) that you have already invested time, money, and hard work to be where you are regarding your book.

The more involved you become in this process the more you will learn about the necessary funds you will need to get your book completed, printed, and into the market place.

Check back soon for Raising funds for your book part 2---"Crowd funding"

And don't forget to WRITE, WRITE, WRITE!

JACI