This is wise advice given by Phil Davis, book promoter extraordinaire, and I though I'd share it with you. He says... "When I published my first book, Fast & Furious Book Promotion, I was against giving it away for free. As a business person, giving away free things just didn't seem to make sense. But when one of my customers, Dr. Bill Guillory, and I teamed up to write How To Become a Total Failure: The Ten Rules of Highly Unsuccessful People, (http://www.tenwaystofail.com) Bill insisted we give away 500 hard copy books and 5,000 ebooks. Needless to say, Bill was right. Within a month of self-publishing How To Fail, we had a publisher in Germany who bought the rights to the book and we were in discussions with a US publisher. What happens when you give away copies of your book is you jump-start the conversation about your book. And when people start talking about it, you never know who might hear about it. Remember the term market influencer from an earlier tip? The result you want when you give away free copies is to get market influencers to start talking about your book. (or buying the rights to it) To get noticed in this over-crowded marketplace you need to be aggressive. I have no rule-of-thumb regarding the number of books to give away, but the numbers Bill and I used worked for us and might work for you as well."

OK, I posted that because it's sound advice from someone who knows, but the reality of it is... how many authors out there want to give away so many books? This is a decision that each author needs to think twice and three times. there are many authors that have the funds available to purchase extra books to be given away, but let's face it... those are not the majority.
I believe that if an author can afford to give away between 50 and 75 books to those he believes will be able to spread the word, he should. Among those people that will receive free books are reviewers from different newspapers and magazines because their word carry and, as Phil says in his article, who knows who will be reading the reviews?
At any rate, I wanted you to hear from someone who has been giving advice to authors for many moons and see how HE does it.
Good luck!, and remember to place your comments here so we can pass them on to other authors.

DOING YOUR OWN PROMOTION

As an author, and one that thinks all the time about the best way to promote your book, you now know we are a tribe of authors who love to promote on the Internet and with Social Media. Online book promotion is the fastest, cheapest way to grow a really big audience. But once you get that audience, what do you do with it? Today's tip is all about getting into your local bookstore, starting with your local chain stores:
1. With a big online following, you improve your chances of getting into bookstores, even if you have to do it one store at a time.
2. The key is local events. Send out press releases to local daily and weekly papers. Contact local radio and TV stations. Offer to do readings at local libraries, and then hit the bookstores.
3. The average author brings in 5 people to a book signing. Show your local bookstore owner you can bring in 50. Get creative. Offer free food.
4. Show the local bookstore owner how you promote your book and that you will be telling your audience your book is available at this particular bookstore.
5. Once you are in the store, track all receipts. The more you sell, the more likely it is that someone at head office will see a 'trend' and give you a call, as the publisher of record, to find out what the appeal is, and get your books throughout the region, or even the country. Online promotion is great, but it is really the foundation of all your book selling activities. At some point, you have to hit the streets, but when you do, everything you do offline will feed back into your online promotion. The key word is synergy.

SHARING THE LIMELIGHT

Another great way to connect with books that rank higher than yours and are in your genre is by writing "So you'd like to . . . Guides." A "So you'd like to . . . Guide" is an article about a subject you are an expert in. For example, I might write an article titled, "So you'd like to be a published author guide." When I write my article, I link to my book so the cover appears prompting anyone who reads my article to buy my book. But I also have to add another title as per Amazon's requirement. So I will select some books that rank higher than mine and are in the same genre. I try not to select too many so my book will still stand out. A key philosophy of social networking is to be social. We must collaborate with others - even competing books - to sell our own books.

This is not asking the enemy how to win the war, it's plain common sense; unfortunately not many people see it that way. In fact, I bet you that 80% of those who read this blog will be thinking "no way I am going to share my page with someone else..." but networking is alive and well and it works.

Maybe another example that I should post here is about three very well known female writers, Nora Roberts, Lisa Gardner, and Julie Garwood, who got together during a large book signing in the East Coast and shared a table signing their books and speaking to the crowds about their work. Now THAT is called networking! Would you dare to do that with tho other people that write about the same genre that you do? Those three well-known writers who have become household names in this country were not afraid to share three hours with the public. they got where they are now because they write extremely well and have the intelligence to recognize that they are not the only ones who do, and are not afraid to share the limelight.

Would you like to send me your thoughts about this theme? Please do. I'll be waiting to hear from you.

From HOFFMAN LION DEN - A reading group.

People who read at least seven business books a year earn a reported 2.3 times more than people who read only one. That stat, floating around the Internet, has been attributed jointly (and separately) to the U.S. Department of Labor and a survey conducted by Yahoo!
Whether that information is strictly reliable or not, executives and avid readers everywhere will attest to the value of professional reading—for personal development, leadership training, continuous learning and company innovation. This value can be increased exponentially if businesses get groups of employees on board with the idea of professional reading and facilitate and encourage discussions in reading groups. Reading groups go beyond boosting knowledge, too, to offer improved morale and productivity.
For small businesses, internal company reading groups may be difficult to facilitate due to smaller staff sizes. But that shouldn’t stop you. Consider instead community-based discussions, focused on business issues. Partner with other local businesses or professional associations, perhaps through the library or your local chamber of commerce, to host a book club. Sounds intriguing?

I am the owner of a smallish business (have 6 employees in site and 3 home-workers), and we have created a group in our hometown that get together once a month and discuss different issues. As a consultant for small businesses, I bring up the themes and we talk about them.

I am using a booklet that OMNI Book Publishing printed On Demand for my company, and we use it as our guide. Having a book (or, as in my case, a Booklet) helps the group and also sells it - and that is the end result I wanted.

I appreciate my associates and friends who took this idea so easily, and suggest it to others that have something to say regarding an X theme or discussion.

I have nearly ran out of copies and am printing more, but the new version will have ideas gathered from those meetings. This will show my readers and clients that the ideas given are good and that they work when we put our brains together in gear. The original booklet was 66 pages... the new version I am preparing will have 90, and I figure that in six more months I will be able to expand it to a full book.

Thank you OMNI Book Publishing for allowing me to add to your blog! One hand washes the other, and both wash our face.

Deb Sutton, hoffmanbooks@hotmail.com

READERS OPINIONS

We have received a comment in one of our blogs (Internet Fraud) in which the writer... 'Anonymous'... states that "I see Omni hides their readers opinions. Her tactics stink as much as her editing does".
Well, first of all... he is not as Anonymous as he wants to believe he is. I know exactly who he is... and I hereby want to say to him that is he wants to diminish me or my company to be man enough to do it in person or in a court of law.
Trashy creatures, those who know deep inside that they are the ones in the wrong, put down others in order to feel better themselves, and this is exactly what this person is doing.

RECOGNITION TO ONE OF OMNI'S AUTHORS

We are always proud of those authors that achieve recognition because of their work as writers - after they pour their hearts into a story that in many cases has taken many months or years, public acknowledgment is food for their souls.

In this case, such recognition has gone to a well-deserved author and the president and founder of AIPEH (Asociación Internacional de Poetas y Escritores Hispanos) based in Orlando, FL., Palmira S. Ubiñas, for her first novel Los Angeles de Poder (in Spanish).

La Prensa has given her an award for "Women That Make a Difference", not only for her literary talent but also for her past work as promoter of the Arts in her Puerto Rico and in Florida.

Palmira is a writer, poet, reporter, magazine editor, publicist, television, radio and theatre producer, and a highly regarded community leader.

Her book, "Los Angeles de Poder" is a science-fiction / fantasy story of a highly developed breed of people from another galaxy who come back in time to visit Earth and save it from the planetary changes that are predicted for 2012. It is a gripping story filled with action, adventure, humor, and the power of love.

We congratulate Palmira S. Ubiñas not only for this award but also for her past performance in the world of Art!

Internet Fraud

This past weekend we at OMNI lived through a hellish time when we found out that someone... one of those low life individuals who have nothing better to do than to create problems and havoc for others... had hacked into our email system (omnibookpublishing@att.net), stole all the names from our contact list (and left it empty), plus all our emails from April 12, 2010 until May 15th, 2010.
Then... he/she sent an email to all those people in the contact list as if it had been sent by me, Christina Coirolo, saying that I was in Wales on a short vacation and had been mugged. The muggers had taken money and credit cards and I had mo money to pay the hotel.
The request for money was not blatantly there, but it was implied.
Those concerned with "my fate" who wrote back offering me money, received another email telling them to send $2200 (one of them), or $2450 (the other) via Western Union. the kicker is... one of them was told to send the money to a fake address in "Wiltshire, Wales" (Wiltshire is not in Wales but in England), and the other to an address in London.
By then I had called the police, and when the money part was found out it became a federal crime and the police here contacted the FBI.
I received many telephone calls during the weekend, some of them were thinking of just leaving a messsage thinking that I was indeed in the UK, and others smelled a skunk and called or emailed me advising of what was going on.
The police has an idea of who the person is... someone with a criminal record for larceny, false pretenses, conspiracy, and larceny by conversion (this is what his rap sheet says), and as soon as Yahoo and AT&T come through with the name of the person who opened an account and had my emails and contact list forwarded to it, then we will act upon.
This blog is just to advise those who read "my" email not to worry and to be aware that there are many of these SKUNKS out there who will think nothing about hurting others. Karma exists and they will get what's coming to them.

EXPLANATION to OMNI'S AUTHORS.

I wrote in my Spanish blog yesterday because something happened that upset and worried me at the same time, and I want to put it here as well tp clarify the air.
One of my authors complained and became insulting when I gave him the price of 250 books that he wanted to order, plus the shipping charges from the printing plant to his home. Those charges are set up by the printers, not OMNI, and because his book is 410 pages, and 7x9 in size, each copy weights a bit over a pound. Besides that, he wanted the books immediately (less than the 4 days that would have taken via UPS Standard)... and the price was $348. He is in Topeka, Kansas. This is when he became rude. I asked him to call UPS, FedEx, and the regular post office and check on shipping rates giving weight of package and all the pertinent information... and an hour later he called me and apologized for his rudeness.
The cheapest rate he received from those three carriers was $410. I had told him that my printers use UPS for the hundred of packages that they send daily and therefore get a better rate... and that OMNI has nothing to do or say about that. What hurts me more is the fact that he accused me of "getting a kick back" from the printing plant, something that is absolutely NOT TRUE.
I use vendors and have to abide by their rules as well as my authors have to abide by OMNI's rules.
This is a business, and as such I have to cover my expenses but I don't overcharge anyone. I believe that OMNI's charges are lower than many small publishers out there, and authors can shop around and compare rates.
My printers can print books in two days and the shipping time may be up to 4 days using their Standard rates and depending where in the country the author lives. Rush and Super Rush can be overnight, therefore an author - if he pays those rush rates - can have his books in THREE days after placing the order.
I'd like to hear of ANY publisher that gives that service.
Place your comments below, please.
Thank you!

WE ALSO PUBLISH IN SPANISH

For your information, we also publish books in Spanish, and this month we have an excellent Science-Fiction / Fantasy story written by Palmira S. Ubiñas, a Puerto Rican author who has many published works under her name, plus a CD with her own poetry and in her own voice.

"Los Angeles de Poder" is the unusual story of two people who were created in the future (year 2420) to travel back in time and save Earth from the happenings in 2012. The story is fascinating, written with good taste and imagination, and it took the writer almost fifteen years to create and develop.

It can be purchased through the Internet distributors starting March 15th., or though our website http://www.omnibookpublishing.com/

Mrs. Ubiñas has worked in many venues related to publication and television, and this is her first novel; we hope that she will develop its sequel soon because after the extensive book signing tour in Florida and Puerto Rico that she has starting in April, readers would want to know more about these two characters - these Angels of Power!

OMNI'S YOUNGEST AUTHOR STRIKES AGAIN!

Reyna Hurand is only 14 years old but her imagination has no boundaries.
Last month she surprised us by sending us two new manuscripts for us to publish: "Misfortune in Manhattan", and a sequel with the subtitle 'Kiley and Stella's Encounter'. The first one is ready to be published and out in the Internet for the world to see.

It's the nicely told story of a newly orphaned 14-yr. old girl from Wisconsin who goes to Manhattan to live with her aunt Julianne, and how her life changes completely not only because of the different way of life, but also because she discovers her hidden talents as a writer.

Kiley Fisher is bright, funny, pretty, and totally cool. She knows all about designers and what to wear when and how, and her views of the new world she has been thrown into will teach her a thing or two about friendship and the love of those closest to us.

This is a book for teenagers written by a teenager whose viewpoint sometimes makes you believe she is older than her aunt.

Beware Manhattan! Kiley Fisher is here to stay!

THE BUSINESS OF BEING DEVIOUS

This week’s blog will be regarding unscrupulous people who see nothing wrong about pilfering ideas from others in order to get what they want. When I say this I mean sneaking questions here and there in a nonchalant way and then using the ideas obtained for their own use.
There are many of those around; some of them have pretended to be friends or at least have shown an interest in what we have to say and later used that information for their own purposes. These underhanded, devious, two-timing, cunning people that use slyness in front of a façade of camaraderie should have no place in our lives.
In the publishing business that is something that could happen more often than what we’d like to hear. I’d dare to compare this behavior with plagiarizing someone else’s writing.
This case happened in the publishing business, but it could also happen in our daily lives. There is a saying, “With friends like those, who needs enemies?”… That it is oh! so true. Byzantine behavior has no room to operate among those who have put their heart and soul towards a goal just to see it shot down by someone else’s greed and the false idea that ‘bigger is better”.

Placing big names on the back cover of a book, or well-known logos showing well-known names doesn’t mean anything really, just that the author is paying big bucks towards the subscription on that particular well-known company. A fine silk scarf adorned with Italian designs draws big dollars at Fifth Avenue boutiques, but stitch a “Made in Taiwan” label into the hem, and it suddenly has all the cachet of a K-Mart blue-light special.
It could easily happen among authors. Suppose you are in a writers’ group, and they start talking about ideas, so you, not even thinking that Benedict Arnold is present, tell everybody about this grand idea you have for a story. Lo and behold, sometime later your idea becomes a finished story – one that was not written by you! You wonder how in the world that happened and probably would never think about one of those people in your friendly writers’ group.

Open your eyes wide, friend, and don’t give away information that may hurt you later. Protect your writing and your ideas and don’t allow underhanded people use them as their own.
It’s a Bad Day at Black Rock, but the shootout isn’t over.

NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS?

I wish I had a dime for every time I have written down resolutions for the New Year; I’m sure I could get new toner for my printer with my booty.
Seriously, how many people do you know that actually follow up on them? I’m sure I don’t! But when you think about it, it makes sense to have goals written down, and as an author it’s even better. If you keep an agenda or a desk calendar, go to the last day of the month and write something like… FINISH CHAPTER AND DO RE-WRITES. It’s not a lot and it may be easier for you to start with something small enough that it won’t turn you off for the remaining of the year.

I have a book about Agatha Christie trivia and one of the stories tells about her compulsion to set goals for herself, and after she died her grandson found one of her agendas in which she had written under the month of May: “Kill someone before page 30”. It’s funny in many ways, but also tells about her methodical mind and how carefully she planned her stories. This also brings us to the detail that Dame Agatha always “killed” someone at the beginning of her stories and the rest of the book revolved about solving that murder. This is also just a bit of trivia for those of us who write whodunits.

Earlier this morning I was writing down family birthdays in my 2010 agenda and thought about goals, so I went to the 30th. of each month and wrote something that I have wanted to accomplish this year. Let’s see how that works…

Is setting goals compulsive or maniacal? Not at all. It’s common sense and it may teach us some very good life rules.
The problem for many is to follow up on those goals. Sigh.

Here’s to you, dear author, with OMNI Book Publishing’s best wishes for a Happy and Prolific year 2010. Cheers!

LEAVE THE DISHES IN THE SINK

Taking time to sit quietly and write is very difficult, unless you live alone, and you are strong enough to ignore the telephone and that loud “bing” that computers do when a new email comes in.
I have been working with an author – married and mother of three – who emails me every month and tells me that “she’s getting there” and would have the manuscript sent to me sooner if she had just two extra hours per day to write. What shall I do?, she asks, just leave the dishes in the sink? I could say many things, but it would all be horse feathers on my part. Who am I, who don’t know my own name before my first cup of coffee, to advise anyone about at what time to write? We are all different and we must do whatever works better for us – not what we read about Mary Higgins Clark, who used to start writing at 5 AM before her children and husband were up – or about Isaac Asimov who apparently had three word processors, each with a story in different stages of completion, and moved from one machine to the next and wrote from a page to ten pages whenever his Muse hit him.
Some people get the writing fever and write, write, write for an entire week or until their fingernails fall off; others are lucky enough to be able to follow schedules and write from 1 – 3 PM when it’s time to start getting cookies and milk out for their kids; others are able to sit down whenever they have a new idea for the book and finish chapters without a billion interruptions. The latter are the ones I envy.
Dean Koonz, an author that I don’t read because I don’t follow his genre but nevertheless recognize his greatness, said in a talk show once that a long time ago he made a rule for himself: he’d write three pages daily no matter what. Those three pages, he explained, will soon become five and then seven because his mind would be already geared towards his theme. I have tried that and it works for me too. It may be more difficult the first few days because all you have in mind is those three pages that you are supposed to be working on, but soon you find out that time indeed flies when you are having fun, and those three pages start multiplying. When you reach the six-pages-per-day goal don’t talk yourself into taking a day off because you are ahead of yourself – just keep typing.
How many times have you heard that “writing is a lonely profession”? It could be, I agree, but we don’t write 24/7, and those hours not used for your writing can be filled with friends, spouses, kids, pets, and you won’t have to leave the dishes in the sink until tomorrow’s breakfast. Just find the time and write. If it’s in you, if you have the nagging feeling that you can do better than the newest blockbuster promoted highly in People’s Magazine and the New York Times, then find the time and leave the dishes in the sink.
Alternatively, you can always get paper plates.

By the way, we at OMNI Book Publishing will be waiting for your phone call regarding the publishing of your book. Our phone is 517-541-2942, or send us an email at omnibookpublishing@att.net