Monday, March 27, 2023

Viral Tik Tok Video Reminds Authors It’s Never Too Late To Break Through

 

 


There was a story last month about how an 11-year-old book that had virtually no sales shot up to being the No.1 Amazon best-selling thrillers book. It is a story that will inspire all authors to keep trying, for it is never too late to get discovered. 

So how did this all happen? 

The daughter of author Lloyd Devereaux Richards took to Tik Tok, unknown to her dad, to post a video of her dad working in his office and telling viewers how he always puts family before his writing career, and that even though he spent 14 years writing the book, Stone Maidens, he was still content despite the poor book sales.  

The video touched a nerve and was viewed 42.2 million times.   

Quite often, the things that we think should make a difference, don’t -- but the things we don’t hold much weight for turn out to be what leads to a breakthrough. Case in point -- you can have a powerful resume but the job you apply for may simply go to someone who did another a favor or has a relationship with the person doing the hiring. This doesn’t mean things don’t happen on merit, but we see many instances when quirky things lead to fame and glory.  

Now interestingly, this story, as amazing as it sounds, exposes other things about book marketing. Though it’s cool to hit the top spot of the genre bestseller list, it didn’t crack the top overall Amazon spots. Amazon updates its bestseller list every hour. It’s quite possible to hit No.1 spot for a genre with just a few hundred sales in a one-hour period.   

So, though this is a wonderful success story, this book may still not have sold more than a few thousand copies despite 42,000,000 video views. Think about that.   

10% of viewers could yield 4.2 million sales. 1% of viewers could yield 420,000 sales. 1 in a thousand views could yield 42,000 sales.  

Likely, no more than 1 in every 10,000 views led to a book sale. That seems like some pathetic returns. But in the world of books, that is the picture of success.  

Lessons learned here?

·         it is never too late to market and be successful

·         Despite tens of millions of video views, only a tiny percentage actually buy based on what they see

·         To be an Amazon best-seller requires relatively few sales.

Keep hacking away – your breakthrough moment is perhaps one viral video away.

 

Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

Read This!

How To Get Others To Sell Your Book

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/how-to-get-others-to-sell-your-book.html

 

Newspapers That Authors Should Contact

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/newspapers-authors-should-contact.html

 

Messages That Sell Books

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/the-messages-that-sell-books.html

 

An Author’s Attitude Is Their Biggest Asset

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/authors-attitude-is-biggest-asset.html

 

Sell Your Books Here & Now

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/sell-your-books-here-now.html

 

Which Radio Opportunities Should Authors Pursue?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/which-radio-opportunities-should.html

 

What Authors Need to Do

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/what-authors-need-to-do.html

 

Which Writer Retreat Serves You Best?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/which-writer-retreat-serves-you-best.html

 

Is The Self-Publishing Book Boom Slowing Down?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/is-self-publishing-book-boom-slowing.html

 

How Can Writers Be Smooth Talkers?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/how-writers-can-be-smooth-talkers.html

 

Can Authors Rebound From A Bad Start?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/can-authors-rebound-from-bad-start.html

 

About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.3 million pageviews. With 4,400+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.  

 

 

Sunday, March 26, 2023

How To Get Others To Sell Your Book

 

 

We all agree that authors can get more book sales when they actively market and promote their books. But authors need help. What can they say or do to get another person to help them sell their book?

Think about who can help you — and what might move them to ask others to buy your book. Is it a friend, neighbor, relative, colleague, alumni, or other who can buy your book or even ask others to buy it?

Why do people buy a book?

They may believe you wrote a great book on a topic that interests them. They want or need it — and the price is right. Perhaps they find the title catchy or the cover image alluring. Maybe the timing of your book is perfect and it is conveniently available.

But there are other reasons why people buy a book, as well as sell your book for you, including one or more of these:

Guilt — they feel obligated by your relationship to them. I mean, how could your mom not buy your book? How could your best friend not try to hawk your book for you?

Connection
— they hope to become a closer friend and offer to buy your book as a gesture of good will.

Debt — they owe you a favor.

Edge
— they are trying to curry a future favor.

Beliefs
— they want to support your book’s message and will buy it — and sell copies to others.

Cause — perhaps a book’s sales raise funds for a good cause and they want to contribute by buying a copy and selling your book to others.

Incentive — they can make money from sales — a commission — if they sell your book.

Trade — they might exchange their services or mailing lists for something they perceive to be of equal or greater value. What can you give them in exchange for their resources  or help.

Fun — make it an entertaining experience for one to help you.

Learn — show how they will learn something by helping you.

Network — indicate to thrm how they will meet people that could be helpful to them in the process of selling your book.

Internship — teens may help sell the book at no pay but they learn how to market and sell.

Resume
— they get sales experience and a reference — and some money —from you if they sell some books.

Valued — make them feel valued and appreciated; thank profusely and tell them you need them.

There are people out there who can help you. Find a way to push the right buttons and you will no longer feel alone in your sales pursuits.

 

Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

Read This!

Newspapers That Authors Should Contact

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/newspapers-authors-should-contact.html

 

Messages That Sell Books

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/the-messages-that-sell-books.html

 

An Author’s Attitude Is Their Biggest Asset

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/authors-attitude-is-biggest-asset.html

 

Sell Your Books Here & Now

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/sell-your-books-here-now.html

 

Which Radio Opportunities Should Authors Pursue?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/which-radio-opportunities-should.html

 

What Authors Need to Do

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/what-authors-need-to-do.html

 

Which Writer Retreat Serves You Best?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/which-writer-retreat-serves-you-best.html

 

Is The Self-Publishing Book Boom Slowing Down?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/is-self-publishing-book-boom-slowing.html

 

How Can Writers Be Smooth Talkers?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/how-writers-can-be-smooth-talkers.html

 

Can Authors Rebound From A Bad Start?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/can-authors-rebound-from-bad-start.html

 

Why Hire A Book Publicist?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/01/why-hire-book-publicist.html

 

About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.3 million pageviews. With 4,400+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.  

 

 

Saturday, March 25, 2023

Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century

 

Do you want to know what some of the best or most influential books written in English of the last century were? well, check out this list that was put together several years ago by the editors of The Modern Library. How many have you read? How many will you read? 

 

  1. Ulysses, James Joyce
  2. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
  3. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce
  4. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
  5. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
  6. The Sound and the Fury, William Faulkner
  7. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
  8. Darkness at Noon, Arthur Koestler
  9. Sons and Lovers, D. H. Lawrence
  10. The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck
  11. Under the Volcano, Malcolm Lowry
  12. The Way of All Flesh, Samuel Butler
  13. 1984, George Orwell
  14. I, Claudius, Robert Graves
  15. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Wolf
  16. An American Tragedy, Theodore Dreiser
  17. The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers
  18. Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
  19. Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison
  20. Native Son, Richard Wright
  21. Henderson the Rain King, Saul Bellow
  22. Appointment in Samarra, John O'Hara
  23. U.S.A. (trilogy), John Dos Passos
  24. Winesburg, Ohio, Sherwood Anderson
  25. A Passage to India, E. M. Forster
  26. The Wings of the Dove, Henry James
  27. The Ambassadors, Henry James
  28. Tender Is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald
  29. The Studs Lonigan Trilogy, James T. Farrell
  30. The Good Soldier, Ford Maddox Ford
  31. Animal Farm, George Orwell
  32. The Golden Bowl, Henry James
  33. Sister Carrie, Theodore Dreiser
  34. A Handful of Dust, Evelyn Waugh
  35. As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner
  36. All the King's Men, Robert Penn Warren
  37. The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Thornton Wilder
  38. Howards End, E. M. Forster
  39. Go Tell It on the Mountain, James Baldwin
  40. The Heart of the Matter, Graham Greene
  41. Lord of the Flies, William Golding
  42. Deliverance, James Dickey
  43. A Dance to the Music of Time (series), Anthony Powell
  44. Point Counter Point, Aldous Huxley
  45. The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway
  46. The Secret Agent, Joseph Conrad
  47. Nostromo, Joseph Conrad
  48. The Rainbow, D. H. Lawrence
  49. Women in Love, D. H. Lawrence
  50. Tropic of Cancer, Henry Miller
  51. The Naked and the Dead, Norman Mailer
  52. Portnoy's Complaint, Philip Roth
  53. Pale Fire, Vladimir Nabokov
  54. Light in August, William Faulkner
  55. On the Road, Jack Kerouac
  56. The Maltese Falcon, Dashiell Hammett
  57. Parades End, Ford Maddox Ford
  58. The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton
  59. Zuleika Dobson, Max Beerbohm
  60. The Moviegoer, Walker Percy
  61. Death Comes to the Archbishop, Willa Cather
  62. From Here to Eternity, James Jones
  63. The Wapshot Chronicles, John Cheever
  64. The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger
  65. A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess
  66. Of Human Bondage, W. Somerset Maugham
  67. Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
  68. Main Street, Sinclair Lewis
  69. The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton
  70. The Alexandria Quartet, Lawrence Durrell
  71. A High Wind in Jamaica, Richard Hughes
  72. A House for Mr. Biswas, V. S. Naipaul
  73. The Day of the Locust, Nathanael West
  74. A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway
  75. Scoop, Evelyn Waugh
  76. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Muriel Spark
  77. Finnegans Wake, James Joyce
  78. Kim, Rudyard Kipling
  79. A Room with a View, E. M. Forster
  80. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
  81. The Adventures of Augie March, Saul Bellow
  82. Angle of Repose, Wallace Stegner
  83. A Bend in the River, V. S. Naipaul
  84. The Death of the Heart, Elizabeth Bowen
  85. Lord Jim, Joseph Conrad
  86. Ragtime, E. L. Doctorow
  87. The Old Wives Tale, Arnold Bennett
  88. The Call of the Wild, Jack London
  89. Loving, Henry Green
  90. Midnights Children, Salman Rushdie
  91. Tobacco Road, Erskine Caldwell
  92. Ironweed, William Kennedy
  93. The Magus, John Fowles
  94. Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys
  95. Under the Net, Iris Murdoch
  96. Sophies Choice, William Styron
  97. The Sheltering Sky; Paul Bowles
  98. The Postman Always Rings Twice, James M. Cain
  99. The Ginger Man, J. P. Donleavy
  100. The Magnificent Ambersons, Booth Tarkington

Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

Read This!

Newspapers That Authors Should Contact

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/newspapers-authors-should-contact.html

 

Messages That Sell Books

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/the-messages-that-sell-books.html

 

An Author’s Attitude Is Their Biggest Asset

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/authors-attitude-is-biggest-asset.html

 

Sell Your Books Here & Now

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/sell-your-books-here-now.html

 

Which Radio Opportunities Should Authors Pursue?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/which-radio-opportunities-should.html

 

What Authors Need to Do

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/what-authors-need-to-do.html

 

Which Writer Retreat Serves You Best?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/which-writer-retreat-serves-you-best.html

 

Is The Self-Publishing Book Boom Slowing Down?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/is-self-publishing-book-boom-slowing.html

 

How Can Writers Be Smooth Talkers?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/how-writers-can-be-smooth-talkers.html

 

Can Authors Rebound From A Bad Start?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/can-authors-rebound-from-bad-start.html 


Why Hire A Book Publicist?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/01/why-hire-book-publicist.html

 

About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.3 million pageviews. With 4,400+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.