by Scott Lorenz | Author Advice, Book Cover Designers, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Publicity, Book Publishing
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications
“A Good Book Cover Can Help Sell a Book – A Bad Cover Can Kill a Book.” – Scott Lorenz, Book Publicist
“Your book cover is not a decoration. It’s a smart business investment.” – George Foster, Foster Covers
Being a book publicist and book marketing guy, I often weigh in on book cover designs. Sometimes it’s in the nick of time sometimes it’s too late to make a change. Here’s the situation, authors, please – do not underestimate the importance of a book cover’s design.
Not only do potential book buyers judge a book by its cover but so do members of the media. Many reporters receive dozens of books every day!
Do you really think they read the book flap and your pitch? Ha!
Here are some important items to consider when making decisions on book cover design:
Use a subhead to create more description. If you have a 10-word title, you have not properly named the book in the first place.
Check with Google on the words that are most searched on your topic. To do this, type in the word that best describes your book in the search box and then see what the next most important or popular words are in that list. That ranking is very relevant marketing- wise so try to use those words in your title or subtitle. Consider using the genre in the subtitle too because that’s what people are searching on.
Visit bookstores look at the covers of all types of books. What catches your eye? Look at the book face and look at the spines. Which ones are readable and why?
Will it play on Amazon? Go to Amazon.com, BN.com, Good Reads, Smashwords and search for competitive books in your space. Notice the book covers that catch your eye and the ones that do not. If your cover does not show up well in an Amazon thumbnail, then you are going to lose sales.
Contrast. Don’t let your graphic designer get started without keeping contrast in mind. The reason black ink works so well on white paper is because it produces the best contrast possible. Yellow ink on green paper in a small font simply does not work. How does your book look in black and white? Not every publication will be printing it in color.
Font size. Many designers are young with great eyesight. But your buyer may not be able to read the tiny font some designers insist upon using. Be practical.
The spine. Can you read it from five feet away? If not, neither can browsers in a bookstore.
Blurbs. Keep them relevant and short. Consider including a mention on the cover of a foreword written by a famous person or author. “Foreword by Best Selling Author Judith Grisel” or “Foreword by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos” or “Foreword by James Patterson.”
Back inside flaps. Do not overlook creating content on the back inside flaps because consumers pick up a book after looking at the spine, front cover and back and then open the book to find the price or more information.
Use a laser printer. Don’t just review your cover on a computer screen which will make it look considerably better. Print it out actual size and make a determination using that printed version.
Pictures are worth 1000 words. Use photos and illustrations to describe what would take too long to explain. When choosing a book design ask yourself how the cover will look on your website home page. Branding is important so you’ll want to use the same design elements on your website that you do on your book cover.
Ask for feedback. Show your cover designs to as many people in your target group of potential readers. Get their reactions and opinions. It costs you nothing and you’ll likely find out something you did not realize before.
Here are 50 book cover designers and services to consider for your next cover:
1. 99 Designs – https://99designs.com/
99designs.com uses graphic designers from around the world who compete for your business by actually designing the book cover on speculation, ie no charge. I commissioned many covers for authors using 99designs after the author was not happy with the creations from his own designer. I mentioned several design elements such as the title, subtitle, what the book was about etc.
Figuring more is better, we got 65 different cover designs in 5 days! The most difficult part was narrowing down the selection to 8 then having friends, family, co-workers vote on their favorites from all corners of the world all online.
They also added their comments, insight and logic behind liking or disliking a cover design right under the image of that cover. They voted over several days and the comments were able to be read by our team, also scattered all over North America. The cost was about $700. Currently 99designs book covers range in price from $299 to their top-of-the-line platinum package at $1,199. This was an excellent process that delivered a NY Times bestseller quality cover that I highly recommend.
2. Foster Covers – https://fostercovers.com/
George Foster of Foster Covers is a book cover designer who has earned more than 300 awards and created covers for 134 bestsellers. His work has appeared on over 1,000 books.
3. Alexander von Ness – https://www.nessgraphica.com/
Alexander von Ness is a book cover designer with over twenty years of professional experience in graphic design, including over a decade as art director in a branding agency. In the last decade his main area of focus has been book cover design. His website Nessgraphica is among the top trusted sites for book cover design services overall.
4. Fiverr – https://www.fiverr.com/
Fiverr gives you many options for just $5. These are fast and obviously cheap, but I’ve seen some pretty nice work. Order from 2 or 3 designers at the same time. Hey, it’s only $5 bucks!
5. 5MediaDesign – https://5mediadesign.com/
5MediaDesign crafts smart book cover design that stand out from the ordinary.
6. Killer Covers – https://killercovers.com/
Killer Covers offers various packages for your book cover needs including web pages, Facebook pages etc. They are based in Australia, and I’ve used them and recommended them several times.
7. Book Cover Express – https://bookcoverexpress.com/
Cathi Stevenson of Book Cover Express has 30 years of publishing experience and more than 1500 book covers to her credit. Book Cover Express has a competitive flat rate so you can work with your ideal budget.
8. Author Support – https://www.authorsupport.com/
The designers at Author Support are a great resource.
9. Book Creatives – https://www.bookcreatives.com/
Book Creatives offers book cover design and eBook design for authors.
10. Karrie Ross Graphics
Karrie Ross of Karrie Ross Graphics specializes in book cover design for the self-publishing industry.
11. Damonza – https://damonza.com/
Damonza has over 30 years combined experience in the design and advertising industry.
12. Robin Ludwig Design – https://www.gobookcoverdesign.com/
Robin Ludwig Design specializes in providing superior book cover design services utilizing professional equipment and software.
13. Andy Carpenter Design, https://acdbookcoverdesign.com/
Andy Carpenter Design is a boutique design firm for self-publishers and small presses.
14. Self-Publishing Lab – https://selfpublishinglab.com/
Self-Publishing Lab has been voted the best website for authors, so be sure to check it out.
15. Lulu – https://www.lulu.com/
Along with publishing services Lulu provides design quality at a competitive price.
16. David Airey – https://www.davidairey.com/books
David Airey is a creative book cover designer.
17. Book Cover Genius – https://jjfast.com/bonuses/bcg-tna53a
Book Cover Genius offers a great sales pitch about why you should download their software to design your own book cover. Worth a look.
18. CreateSpace – https://kdp.amazon.com/createspace-transfer
CreateSpace allows you to work with their professional design team to custom-create an affordable, striking cover that broadcasts your book’s key messages with distinct colors, fonts, and one central image.
19. BookBaby – https://www.bookbaby.com/ebook-cover-design/
BookBaby offers a straightforward approach to finding a budget and designing your book cover.
20. Guru – https://www.guru.com/
Guru is a great website to utilize to find freelance book cover designers from around the world. Very cool.
21. 1106 Design – https://1106design.com/
1106 Design offers editing, proofreading, cover design, Interior page layout, eBook formatting, Printing and more.
22. Infinity Publishing – https://infinitypublishing.com/
With Infinity Publishing you have complete control over the cover design and layout of your book.
23. Abacus Graphics – https://johnraymondwebster.com/abacus-graphics/
Abacaus Graphics is an intimate award-winning design studio creating exceptional image building graphic designs for print and the web since 1979.
24. Albertine Book Design
Albertine Book Design offers complete design and production services for children’s books, tabletop books, cookbooks, textbooks, fiction and non-fiction hard cover and paperbacks.
25. Book Covers for All – https://bookcoversforall.com/
Book Covers for All features one designer boasting over 18 years of experience with 1000+ books to his credit.
26. Elaine Gignilliat – https://romancebookcoverart.com/
Elaine Gignilliat is one of the foremost romance book cover artists. She has painted covers for over 350 romance books representing more than 150 authors.
27. Extended Imagery – https://extendedimagery.com/
Carl Graves is a professional book cover designer who has a fire sale on book covers with more than 2,000 book covers on hand. These are really amazing must see covers.
28. Illumination Graphics – https://illuminationgraphics.com/
Illumination Graphics provides affordable and dynamic design for books, both book cover designs and book interior layouts.
29. BookWise Design – https://bookwisedesign.com/
BookWise Design has designed over 1200 book covers and strives to provide the most experienced and helpful book production services.
30. ExpertSubjects – https://www.expertsubjects.com/
Expert Subjects has several cover artists, and you can choose to create a fully customized book cover depending on your budget constraints. They also provide an array of services including typesetting, editing, critique and undertake publishing & distribution too.
31. Canva – https://www.canva.com/create/book-covers/
Canva’s book cover maker makes book covers amazingly simple to design – even for non-designers. I’ve used them for memes too.
32. The Cover Collection – https://www.thecovercollection.com/
Here’s a way to get a high-quality book cover for a great price using premade book cover designs. Authors receive multiple drafts to choose from and a choice of font options. I’ve checked out their covers and they are top notch.
33. TS95 Studios – https://www.ts95studios.com/
Hampton Lamoureux of TS95 Studios is a Daily Deviation award-winning artist on DeviantArt.com. He designs e-book and full jacket covers, crafting elaborate realistic scenes from stock photos for fantasy, horror, mystery, and sci-fi novels.
34. JD Smith Design – https://www.jdsmith-design.co.uk/
JD Smith is an award-winning book cover designer who has worked in the graphic design industry since she was 17. She designs book publishers for traditional publishers and independent authors.
35. Jessica Bell Design – https://www.jessicabelldesign.com/
Jessica Bell is dedicated to creating one-of-a-kind book cover designs that fit any author’s budget. She began designing covers as favors for her author friends and has turned her hobby into a successful business.
36. Mars Dorian – https://www.marsdorian.com/covers/
Mars Dorian is a digital illustrator and storyteller who specializes in creating e-book covers that stand out for affordable prices.
37. Alexandra Brandt – https://www.alexandrajbrandt.com/
Alexandra Brandt’s print and e-book covers focus on sci-fi and fantasy works.
38. Kingwood Creations – https://www.kingwoodcreations.com/
Find stunning premade book covers at Kingwood Creations. You can select your favorite design from over 100 premade covers.
39. MiblArt – https://miblart.com/
MiblArt is a design company that specializes in book covers. If you choose them for your book cover design, you can expect the first concept to be delivered in 3 days and an unlimited number of revisions.
40. Jeff Brown Graphics – https://www.jeffbrowngraphics.com/
Beautiful sci-fi and fantasy book cover designs can be found at Jeff Brown Graphics. Jeff has collaborated with over 90 authors on more than 250 covers.
41. Historical Fiction Book Covers – https://historicaleditorial.blogspot.com/
For a historical fiction book cover design, consider Historical Fiction Book Covers by Jenny Quinlan.
42. Dissect Design – https://www.dissectdesigns.com/
Dissect Design was created for indie book authors who are in search stunning book covers that don’t break the bank.
43. Laura Duffy Design – https://www.lauraduffydesign.com/
Laura Duffy of Laura Duffy Design is a former art director who takes great pride in creating professional book designs.
44. More Visual – https://bookartwork.com/
Dave Kessler of More Visual is a graduate of Parsons School of Design and specializes in unique and professional book design services.
45. David Moratto – https://davidmoratto.com/
With more than 225 covers to date David Moratto brings his unique graphic design expertise to each cover project. The book’s interior design and cover is designed to the demographic profile of the reader.
46. Bianca Bordianu Design – https://moonpress.co/
Bianca Bordianu is a professional cover designer who works with bestselling authors, publishing houses and indie authors in all genres. She delivers high quality designs for competitive prices.
47. Crowdspring – https://www.crowdspring.com/
Crowdspring is an innovative design resource. You pay one price (starting at $299) and you get dozens of custom designs that were made specifically for you. Crowdspring manually reviews every designer on their platform and constantly updates their profile score based on their skill. This encourages quality submissions. They also allow you to get feedback from your audience and the comments can be left as tags on the cover design itself. Crowdspring was founded by an intellectual property attorney so when they say you are going to get a custom design, they mean it. Crowdspring offers customer support (phone, chat, and email) to both clients and their creatives. This is helpful in ensuring a streamlined process. Crowdspring also offers a 100% money-back guarantee (they will refund ALL fees). Authors should take a serious look at Crowdspring.
48. Lance Buckley – https://www.lancebuckley.com/
Lance Buckley is a book designer with over 10 years of experience. Says Lance, “I’ve worked for 8 years as a Design Specialist at CreateSpace before Amazon consolidated things and axed CreateSpace altogether. For the last 4 years I’ve been designing book covers and interiors for authors. You can view some of my work on my website. I try to keep my pricing as low as possible while still providing a very professional design.”
49. Julia Rohwedder – https://www.lunaryxdesign.com/
Julia Rohwedder is a freelance photo illustrator & designer living in the southwest of Germany. She has been creating digital photo illustration since around 2006. She loves book cover art commissions for Fantasy genres, like Dark Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy.
50. eBook Launch – https://ebooklaunch.com/
Since 2011, eBook launch has designed hundreds of creative book covers for independent authors and publishers in nearly every genre. Check out their book cover portfolio here. https://ebooklaunch.com/custom-book-cover-portfolio/ They also handle book editing, formatting as well.
You can and should spend a few hours going through all of these websites. You’ll be glad you did. I know I was enlightened myself in creating this list of book cover designers.
The Bottom Line: Get involved early in the entire book publishing design process and get at least several creative concepts for the front cover, back cover, and spine. Don’t let it be the ‘last thing’ you do.
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://www.WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at [email protected] or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Would you like help promoting your book?
If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?
Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!
by Scott Lorenz | Author Advice, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Publicity, Book Reviews
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications
As a book publicist I’ve read a few thousand book reviews and have written a few dozen myself. I have a pretty good idea about how to write a book review that is helpful to potential readers and buyers of a book. Authors have a difficult time getting people to write a review because their fan base of readers don’t have time or most likely don’t know how to write a review. So, here it is. Hand this to anybody who says, ‘I just don’t know how to write a review.’
Before you pick up a pen, ask yourself these questions:
- How did the story affect you?
- Did it make you laugh, cry?
- Did it affect the way you think about family, spouse, or life in general?
- Would you recommend it to others?
- Would you by it as a gift for events such as graduations, birthdays, etc?
Here’s What Makes A Good Book Review
1. In general, you are trying to help someone determine if they should buy the book. “It needs to give a clear reason for someone to want to read or avoid the book in question. Narrowing the potential audience is also helpful,” says Ross Rojek, editor and publisher of the San Francisco Book Review.
2. Talk about your impression of the book. “For fiction reviews, brief plot summaries. You don’t need details about every character and every event. For non-fiction, say what the book’s premise is and whether it fulfills that,” says Debra Englander, former acquisitions editor for Wiley Books.
3. Include qualifications or relevant background about the author. “Include information about author – reputation, qualifications, etc, — anything relevant to the book and the author’s authority,” says Bill Asenjo, award-winning freelance writer. For example, a lawyer should be able to write a good courtroom thriller, but not a book on sewing.
4. Provide a short example from the book. “One good phrase or sentence that encapsulates the book is easy to promote,” Rojek explains. “Be mindful not to give away the ending!”
5. Who should buy this book? “Do compare similar products,” Amazon’s tips on writing reviews states. For example, “If you liked Harry Potter you’ll love this book” or, “If you are into current news events, this book is for you! It’s perfect for middle school children and older.”
6. Talk about what kind of reader this book is for. “Summarize some of your thoughts on the book by suggesting the type of reader you’d recommend the book to,” children’s author Luisa Plaja told BookTrust. If this is a great gift book for the recent college graduate or pregnant Moms then say so!
7. Did the book live up to expectations? Does it deliver on the title? If the book title is “How to Build a House?” Does it in fact tell you how to do it? “Describe what the book does well and what it does poorly (and why), but it should also explain who would value the book,” said Dr. Eric Russell, book reviewer and English Language and Literature professor.
8. Be sure to create a snappy title for your review. Perhaps one with a key word that would help someone find your review about the book. Using the house theme again: “If You Want to Build A House, THIS Book with Tell You How!”
9. Add the stars on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being great. “A five-star review should be for a book that has everything: good writing, good-editing, and a story that makes you want to read it again and tell your friends about,” Neal Wooten, author and managing editor of Mirror Publishing, advises in his article on HuffPost.
What Not To Do:
1. “Be honest, but not overly critical,” Englander warns, “If a reviewer is especially nasty, readers wonder if he/she had a personal agenda.”
2. Don’t lose focus on what you’re reviewing. “Review the book you read – not the book you wish the author had written,” Asenjo cautions.
3. “Don’t describe your seller or shipping experience,” Amazon urges. Don’t comment on the fact it arrived late or the book was damaged. The author has no control over that and nobody cares.
4. “Don’t review books by your friends or enemies,” suggests Rebecca Skloot, a previous vice president of National Book Critics Circle. Doing this doesn’t provide you any real practice on writing a review and doesn’t help anyone. Keep your intentions as a reviewer in check.
5. “Don’t use a book review as an excuse to show off your writerly voice,” recommends Ann Finkbeiner of The Open Notebook, board of directors and regular reviewer for The New York Times Book Review and The Wall Street Journal. A review’s purpose is to evaluate a piece of text and create discussion with other readers. If you want to showcase your writing ability, start a blog.
The Bottom line: Authors, want reviews? Ask your readers to write one! Readers, don’t know how to review? Follow the guidelines above to ensure the creation of a helpful review for future readers!
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://www.WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at [email protected] or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Would you like help promoting your book?
If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?
Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!
by Scott Lorenz | Blog, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Fan Fiction, Marketing a Book, Promoting a Book
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications
“Ever thought about writing fan fiction? Many authors started out writing on fanfic sites.”
Anna Todd started writing fan fiction on her phone, published chapters to Wattpad, then after garnering 1 million+ views she was pursued by numerous literary agents. Fast forward five years, her story AFTER is a Simon & Schuster NY Times bestseller and Ann Todd is making millions.
Amanda Hocking started out writing fan fiction and she was signed to a multimillion-dollar book deal. Erika Leonard, aka E.L. James discovered Fan Fiction in August 2009. Taking a stab at fan fiction under the pen name Snowqueens Icedragon has certainly served James well. The fan fiction morphed into the Fifty Shades of Grey series and movies which as of December 2018 give her a whopping $150,000,000 net worth.
Convinced yet about the value of writing on Fanfiction sites? Before you dive in check out my list of top 21 fan fiction sites and see where your work could fit in and most importantly stand out.
1. Commaful: For a different flavor of fan fiction, visit Commaful. This site takes a new and exciting spin on fanfiction, offers a unique picture book format and is ideal for shorter works.
2. Quotetv: While Quotev is a fan fiction site that offers a wide variety of fan fiction categories for readers to choose from, it’s also a platform that gives writers the opportunity to post their original poems, stories, and quizzes.
3. TONFA: TONFA is a purely Naruto centric website. It features a comprehensive archive of Naruto fanfiction. Users can read fanfiction on this site or submit their own.
4. MediaMiner: MediaMiner brings together those who are interested in reading and writing fan fiction. The three major sections of this site include fan fiction, fan art, and anime.
5. One Direction Fan Fiction: If you are a huge fan of One Direction, you’ll be pleased to find out there’s a website dedicated to One Direction fan fiction. This site offers categories such as action, romance, drama, mystery, and many others.
6. Percy Jackson FanFiction: Percy Jackson Fan Fiction was made for fans of the legendary Percy Jackson. It offers a variety of Percy Jackson story remixes to read and can allow you to write your own remix. All Percy Jackson stories on these sites are subject to votes and comments from fans.
7. Good Reads: With over 18 million users, members of the site can share their work, about 400 of which are fan fiction. The most popular books are inspired by Twilight, Harry Potter, and Naruto.
8. FanFiction: FanFiction is considered to be world’s largest fanfiction archive on the web. The site launched in October 1998 and currently has well over 2 million users. The most popular sections on Fanfiction are Harry Potter (675,000 titles), Twilight (215,000 titles), and Lord of the Rings (51,000 titles).
9. Webnovel: Webnovel has established an interactive online reading experience as its core while being an online literature platform that combines copyright licensing and cooperation.
10. Wattpad: Based in Toronto, Wattpad’s monthly audience is over 10 million readers. Every minute, the site connects more than 10,000 readers with a new story. Wattpad is more about fanfic driven by celebrities and comics. There are over 100,000 stories about One Direction. You can also find fanfic about Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, or Zac Efron.
11. Internet Archive: Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library. The Internet Archive allows users to download digital material, but also to upload their own.
12. Archive of Our Own: Archive of Our Own is a project founded and operated by the Organization for Transformative Works. It’s a non-profit, non-commercial archive for fan fiction of all formats, including writings, graphic art, videos, and podcasts. Currently, there are over 170,000 users.
13. Asianfanfics: Asianfanfics is mostly about Asian characters and topics that often revolve around Asian culture. One-shot fanfiction, which is characterized as stories no longer than one chapter, is very popular on Asianfanfics, with over 35,000 stories listed in the category.
14. Tumblr: You can stay logged into your favorite network and search for new, fresh fan fiction; it’s just a matter of using the right tag to search the posts, and finally picking up Tumblr posts you want to follow. Try searching #fanfic, #fanfiction, or any book title you’re a fan of and read what Tumblr has to offer.
15. FicWad: FicWad is an archive of both fan fiction and original work, launched in 2005 and managed by K&D Lynch. The site is currently in beta stage, but you are able to read the stories even if you are not a registered user.
16. Twilighted: Twilighted calls itself all-inclusive, high-quality Twilight fan fiction. Founded in 2008, the site already has a large following. The most popular, and arguably most interesting category is AU-Human: stories in which all the vampires are humans.
17. Feed Books: Feed Books features works uploaded by the site’s users into its Original Books section. You can easily upload any of the 800 fanfiction pieces to a book application or an e-reader, as they are available in mobi (Kindle), epub and pdf formats.
18. Deviant Art: There are 176,092 deviations for fan fiction, grouped in 6 categories: drama, general fiction, horror, humor, romance, and sci-fi. The most popular one, however is Not in Harry Potter, with quotes and words that should be included in Harry Potter books – but aren’t.
19. Fiction Press: This is the fan fiction site for all things sci-fi and fantasy. One unique attribute of Fiction Press is that there are many dedicated communities of authors on the site who help edit and encourage the work of one another.
20. Mibba: Mibba is a community that welcomes fan fiction and utilizes forums for help with writing and connecting with people who have similar viewpoints.
21. Inkitt: Inkitt is the world’s first reader-powered publisher, providing a platform to discover hidden talents and turn them into globally successful authors. Write captivating stories, read enchanting novels, and we’ll publish the books our readers love most on our sister app, GALATEA and other formats.
22. Booknet: Booknet is a global self-publishing literary platform that makes reading and publishing of e-books. It has 3 language versions – English, Spanish, and Ukrainian.
23. Fanfiction Online: You can read and write fan fiction stores and also make collections of your favorite fan fiction books.
24. ReadFanFic: Read fanfiction stories online. This website also stores your reading history. Join their team on Discord.
25. Writer’s Cafe: It is a very active community where writers can post their work to get instant feedback from other fellow members of the platform. Not only that, but you can also join different groups to learn more about different writing techniques.
26. Live Journal: LiveJournal is a Russian-owned community-based journaling platform where users can keep a blog, journal, or diary. LiveJournal encourages communal interaction and personal expression by offering a user-friendly interface and a deeply customizable journal. With more than 50 million journals on topics like politics, entertainment, fashion, literature, design, fanfiction, and more.
27. InsaneJournal: InsaneJournal, built on open-source software, is a simple yet very customizable online diary that allows you to keep in touch with all of your friends. At InsaneJournal, you have freedom of speech/expression. There’s no censorship unless the content obviously violates United States law. Most importantly, the site is fanfic friendly.
28. Dreamwidth: Dreamwidth Studios is a home and a community for all kinds of creative folk. Share your writing, your artwork, or your innermost thoughts. Find others who create the sort of things you like to enjoy.
The Bottom Line: I encourage you to post on fan fiction sites and take your writing to the next level. Reach out to new readers, get feedback from others and fine-tune your craft. You never know, it might be the start of something big!
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://www.WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at [email protected] or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Would you like help promoting your book?
If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?
Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!
by Scott Lorenz | Author Advice, Book Clubs, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Marketing a Book, Promoting a Book
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications
When promoting a book, many authors think national promotion. And that’s fine, but I also suggest authors consider solid local promotion using book clubs. While national campaigns can be effective, reaching out to a nearby audience is certainly cost-effective and, when done right, can help start word-of-mouth promotion every author covets.
The obvious appeal of a book club is that it is a prime niche target. The simple equation is that book clubs consist of people interested in books and people who like books can like your book as well as any other.
The investment is driving 15-20 minutes to where the club meets, speaking for 30 minutes, answering questions for 10-15 minutes, and then greeting members as they depart at a table filled with your books.
If 20 members attend that week’s book club session, and six buy your book, they will return to the following month’s meeting and at least two or three will talk about your book. Others will then go out and, on the recommendation of club members, purchase your book. All will tell friends outside the club, some of whom will buy your book. It doesn’t take long for 100 sales to rack up from a 90-minute investment by the author.
And, by the way, a book club in another state or another country still can have value to an author because it can easily be arranged to “appear” as a speaker to any distant club by using SKYPE, Facebook Live or other technology. Visiting a book club offers many benefits beyond sales, although generating sales should be number one. Other benefits include:
- A way to better identify target audiences.
- Getting new thoughts and ideas for future books
- Increased understanding of what characters or plot lines were of interest to readers in your target audience.
- Having an instant focus group without having to pay for one.
- Meet and relate to reviewers who often are book club members.
- Meet people from all different walks of life, greatly adding food to the writer’s observational brain.
- Learn about new books to read. Remember Stephen King’s advice: “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write.”
To find book clubs nearby do a Google search. Then, (now don’t laugh), actually go to your local library and ask the librarian! Chances are some book clubs may even meet in the library. Others will meet in private homes, but the librarian will know. In fact, the librarian will belong to local book clubs and probably would be willing to recommend you as a speaker at a club event or at the library itself. Besides the library, visit local community colleges and universities to get information on book clubs.
Book clubs also can be located by searching on Facebook, Goodreads and other online sites. You can visit local coffee shops, sandwich shops and even bookstores and look for a community bulletin board that book clubs are apt to use for announcements.
Another way to locate nearby book clubs is to go to www.readerscircle.org, https://www.readinggroupguides.com/ and https://www.bookbrowse.com/bookclubs/.
There are some things an author should do to make the visit worthwhile to club members so they will be invited back or invited to another club, such as:
- Provide study questions in advance.
- Have some great stories ready to talk about writing and the creative process.
- Seek their help by asking them to review your book on Amazon, BN, Goodreads, or talk about it on Facebook or Twitter
- Keep in touch. Take a picture with the group and offer to email it to them. Save the contact information and email them updates.
- Bring something – bookmarks, a bottle of wine, or a batch of homemade cookies. Best of all bring free books to give away.
After you have visited all the book clubs within a 50-mile radius, you will have become an expert at promoting books using book clubs. After all, paid speakers begin by speaking free to local civic clubs and become better speakers by this training method. The same goes for authors and book clubs. These new skills will prepare you to speak at seminars, workshops, book fair conferences, etc.
One more thing. There are several celebrity book clubs promoted by Reese Witherspoon, Jimmy Fallon and Sarah Jessica Parker to name a few. Getting picked up by these are a long shot at best for most authors. So, for best results and mental satisfaction, I’d focus on the plan I’ve outlined above.
The Bottom Line: Authors, pursue book clubs to promote your book and get the local buzz going!
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://www.WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at [email protected] or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Would you like help promoting your book?
If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?
Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!
by Scott Lorenz | Author Advice, Author Spotlight, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Publicity, Book Spotlight, PR Stunts, Television
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications
PR Stunts get a bad rap because many are either ill-conceived or poorly executed. But I like them and have been involved in many successful ones.
One recent PR Stunt of note paid huge dividends when Elon Musk sent a TESLA into outer space. The car had an astronaut behind the wheel and the radio played David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” about Major Tom. Who didn’t talk about this fantastic just-for-fun extravagant stunt? It was the best one I’ve seen in years. Funny thing, nobody is really calling it a ‘PR Stunt’ but that’s exactly what it was… a beautifully executed PR Stunt. When you have a perfectly performed stunt that catches people by surprise and makes them smile, you got ‘em. The value of TESLA went up and the photos did the talking.
Cowboy digitally signed his book
One very creative author I know personally pulled off a PR Stunt that even I was impressed to read about. He rode his horse into “publishing history” by becoming the first author to conduct a book signing and an e-book signing on horseback.
Author Carew Papritz, a working cowboy, rode his horse in front of a Barnes and Noble in Tucson, Arizona and digitally signed his book The Legacy Letters on his iPad in front of a cheering crowd. He made some press and history at the same time. Check out this video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKEsxqmzs9g
One of the keys to the success of a good PR Stunt is the mashup of two disassociated things: cars in outer space, horses in book stores and in one I did last year, hot air balloons and violins.
Violin in a Hot Air Balloon
As a book publicist and hot air balloon pilot I take to the skies like some people play golf. It’s my main recreation. One day I met a University of Michigan Music Student, Stuart Carlson, and asked him to join me on a balloon flight and to bring his violin. The result: 42,000+ plus views of two videos on YouTube and Facebook. Here’s ‘Hail To The Victors’ https://www.facebook.com/HotAirBalloonMichigan/videos/10153980344308667/
How can authors benefit by using this technique? Think about the bigger picture. Don’t just focus on selling books. Think about how you can connect with readers on a personal level. Let your audience know you’re both a person and a writer. By that, I mean let your audience glimpse into your personal life. Share things that are important or interesting to you. You can share details on your website, blog, and social media outlets. Utilize your mentions on Twitter and generate conversations with your followers on a personal level. Respond to comments on your blog or on review pages of your work. By sharing more details about yourself, you’ll provoke commonalities between your fans, ultimately appealing to more people.
If you are a romance writer, share with the audience your love of cooking. If you’re a mystery writer, illustrate your travels abroad and how a visit to a particular city was woven into your book. Connect with your following on whatever level you can. Your goal should be to reach as many new audience members as possible. To do so, dig deep into your being and ‘open up the kimono’ and show the audience who you really are, pen aside.
The Bottom Line: PR Stunts Work!! Take a page out of Carew Papritz and TESLA’s book and appeal to your audience on an emotional level; it’ll get them to connect with you on another level and it may get them talking about you too!
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://www.WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at [email protected] or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Would you like help promoting your book?
If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?
Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!
