5 Easy Steps to Get Your Book Noticed by Book Clubs!

Marian L. Thomas

Talk with most authors and they all have one thing in common—to get their books noticed by as many book readers as possible. Book Clubs today have become the means to accomplish that task. Book clubs represent book lovers, and book lovers are the ones that buy books. So how do you get your book noticed by book clubs?

Hopefully, following these 5 easy steps will help .

Step #1- Website. Get a website created with your own custom domain name. It has been common in the industry to see author domain names that are geared toward the title of their first book, however, it might be more effectively in the long run to get a domain name that features your first and last author name. For example: http://www.marianlthomas.com. Why Important? Book clubs need somewhere to go to read more about you, your book (s) and to see how to purchase your book. A website also helps you establish creditability as a serious author.

Include on your website the following:

-Home Page: a photo of yourself is often displayed on the home page.

-BIO: Keep it simple but give it some substance.

-Book Page: Book Synopsis, Purchase Links for Your Book, Reviews, Links to Book Trailer

-Media:  To set up this page, first make sure you set-up a free press room at http://www.prlog.org. Once your press room has been created, ensure that any press releases that are written about your book, book events or other news that is media worthy is linked to your press room. You can then add a link to your press room under your Media tab. Be sure to include any links to articles that you have written or radio shows on this page.

-Contact: Use this page for comments, a way for readers to reach you or as a guest book.

-Calendar: Must have! Google Calendar is great, free and can be embedded on your website.

Step #2 – Sponsorship. Sponsor 3 to 5 book club meetings during the first month of your book release. Book clubs are often looking for sponsors for their events or meetings.  The result,  if you get 25 to 50 book club members  the first month of your release, that’s 25 to 50 more people that know about your book! Word of mouth is vital as you continue on your journey to authorship. Look for a local coffee shop to hold your events. Here’s an idea for a good theme: Coffee &  A Book. Buy the first round of coffee and consider having finger-type  foods or sandwiches if available.

Step #3 -Network. Use the Internet to invite book clubs to your event. Try websites like: http://www.meetup.com to find book clubs in your area and reach out to the coordinator. Set-up a “Like” page for your book and do a search on ‘book clubs’ on facebook. Invite them to ‘like’ your page. Also, look for groups on facebook that are geared toward readers, authors, writers or poetry. Offer to send a book club president a signed copy of your book.

Step #4- Live Chats. There are many book clubs out there that won’t reside in your local area or State for that matter. You want to have a means to reach them as well. Skype can help.  Invite book clubs to schedule a ‘live’ chat with you on Skype. If they have Skype already set-up, then it’s a free call for you and them. Skype also allows you to do a video call. Of course, there are others companies that offer this, so do your research and find one that book clubs are also using.

Step #5- Cash or Credit. Make sure you display lots of copies of your book at your event and be sure to have a means for your guest to purchase them. If you have an Iphone or Blackberry, there are credit card companies out there that have great apps that can be installed on your phone. This gives you the ability to take credit cards whenever someone says “I want your book”!

About the Author:

Marian L. Thomas, reared in Chicago but lives with her biggest-supporter—her husband and their spoiled but playful dog, Winston in Atlanta, Georgia. Her debut title, Color Me Jazzmyne, went on to become an Amazon Best-Seller and was ranked as one of the” Top 100 Books”-1st Qtr 2010 by the Sankofa Literary Society Review.

Marian welcomes the release of her second book, My Father’s Colors-The Drama-Filled Journey of Naya Monà Continues to online retailers, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Kindle and Nook. Be sure to get your copy today! It is sure to be another Best-Seller for the author as it takes you on the journey of four individuals that lead to one destination filled with betrayal, lies and shocking secrets.

Author’s Website: http://www.marianlthomas.com

Ready to Purchase Your Copy? Click Here

Ms. Thomas is currenly (today) doing a pit stop blitz tour of different sites. Stop in to the BK Walker Event Page and leave a comment for your chance to win 1 of 5 Ebook Copies of My Father’s Colors. Share the event and leave a link in the comments section and be entered to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card. Fun facts and trivia throughout the day.

Stop in and leave a comment at each pit stop for your chance to win a signed copy of My Father’s Colors (a comment at each stop is mandatory to be entered into drawing). Use the linky below to visit the blogs participating on this tour.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 1st, 2011 at 11:31 am and is filed under Guest Post. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.