Authors, Meet Shawn and R.J. From Book Marketing Tools. A Must Website for Authors.

Ok authors, do you know about Book Marketing Tools?
They are a must for all authors to go join free and sign up for their newsletter. Why?
Because it has fantastic book marketing article like this one I am about to share.

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Now I have known these two guys of ‘Book Marketing Tools’ for a couple years now. Shawn and R.J. have even invited me on a regular basis to write articles and share some the “magic” of book promotions with their readers. Well, they actually invite many to write articles to share on their site as they both have “Big Hearts” and genuinely care about helping authors succeed in selling and promoting their books and teaching them how to do it.

They also have many excellent tools to help authors in submitting their books on many book sites. Like the E-book submission tool. Fill out one form and your e-book gets listed on a big amount of book promo sites. Now that is a time saver!!

So, if you haven’t yet visited and signed up for their newsletter, I highly recommend you do so today right here Book Marketing Tools. Now let’s see what they have to share with us today about book reviews. Enjoy!

Authors, we hope your week has gotten off to a positive start!

Recently, self-published author Jennifer-Crystal Johnson wrote a guest blog post for Book Marketing Tools entitled “How to Handle Negative Book Reviews.” In her piece, she really cut to the core of what it feels like to receive a negative review for something that you’ve spent so much time and effort creating. It sucks! But the way you handle negative reviews can set the stage for some real, significant growth as a self-published author.

But what about positive reviews?

Should you just take them for granted?

What, if anything, should you do to maximize your favorable book reviews?

As it turns out, not all authors know how to handle good reviews. Thankfully, if you’re a writer who isn’t sure what to do when the raves start coming in for your latest book, we have some great tips!

3 Tips for Maximizing Your Positive Book Reviews

Tip #1 — Be Grateful!

Whenever possible, reach out to your positive reviewers to say, “thanks,” whether they are friends, family members or complete strangers who stumbled across your book.

As a self-published author, you are running a business. And business is all about relationships. The more you can cultivate positive relationships with people who love your books, the more successful you’ll be in your career as an author.

To write a review takes time and thoughtfulness, so if you’re getting good reviews of your work, it means that people are really connecting with your writing. As an author, there really isn’t a better feeling, so be sure to show your appreciation!

Tip #2 — Start a Collection

Chances are, if you get one good review, you’ll probably get several. Keep a list of your good reviews so you can link to them, post them on your author website or pull quotes from them.

A selection of positive reviews can also be the subject of a “What Readers Are Saying” email to the people on your list.

It’s also good to have easy access to your positive reviews for those times when you’re not feeling so hot about your ability to put words on the page — who doesn’t need a confidence boost from time to time?

Tip #3 — Reflect on What You’re Doing Right

You probably have a pretty strong sense of your strengths as an author, but good reviews can reveal some things about your writing that you may not have even considered. Negative reviews can challenge you to face your flaws, but good reviews can uncover hidden strengths that you can cultivate for your future writings.

For example, maybe you’ve never thought of yourself as a gifted dialogue writer — perhaps your focus has been on plot and narrative — so when reviews appear that show appreciation for the ways in which your characters speak, it’s a chance to take notice of a talent you might not have known you have!

Good reviews give you the opportunity to reflect on and respond to the aspects of your books that really resonate with readers, which can only help you grow as you continue your journey as a self-published author.

Self-Publishing in the News: How an Airline Changed One Indie Author’s Life

If you’re a self-published author, you’ve got to be open to opportunities no matter where they might come from. And you need to be able to think outside of the box when it comes to getting your books in the hands of readers.

Indie author Stephen Holmes created The Great Hot Air Balloon Adventure as a bedtime story for his daughters. When one of his children suggested that he publish the story and turn it into a book, he realized he had the opportunity to do something special.

The amazing part of the story is that Holmes — on a whim — decided that he might have a shot at making some new fans by sending the book to Virgin Atlantic Airlines. Well, the right people at the airline loved the book, and they promptly ordered 2,000 copies to be given away during night flights to parents and their children.

In addition to the initial order, Holmes is sure to make many more new fans!

One important takeaway: because Holmes wrote and published the book himself, he was able to get the ball rolling and catch the interest of the airline in a matter of days! Would this be possible in the traditional publishing world? Maybe, but it doesn’t seem likely.

Check out the full story on The Guardian website!

Have a wonderful week, authors!

-Shawn & R.J. from Book Marketing Tools

http://bookmarketingtools.com

“Lyon Book and Social Media Promotions” *Cat*