2009 December | EPUBBING with NICOLA FURLONG

Archive for December, 2009

The Top Ten of 2009: The “Niki” Awards

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

Happy New Year and best wishes for a healthy, prosperous and inventive 2010.

As the old year ends, I’ve established my own little awards, The Niki’s, to honour the best of 2009.

My categories are mostly related to creative endeavours, are arbitrarily chosen and listed in alphabetical order.

So, drum roll, please:

1-Top Technology of the Year: Podcasting

credit: Amazon.com

2-Top Book of the Year:
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

3-Top Cool Thing of the Year: the E-book

4-Top Food of the Year: my sister’s Microwavable Chocolate Fudge

Lounging Lions (credit E. Polinsky)

5-Top Photo of the Year: Lounging Lions

by Eddie Polinsky

6-Top Plant of the Year: My funky Spectabilis bamboo

Phyllostachys Spectabilis

7-Top Radio Play of the Year: The Barchester Chronicles by Anthony Trollope (BBC Radio)

8-Top Song of the Year:Battlefield by Glynne Turner

9-Top Television Show of the Year: The Closer (James Duff: executive producer/creator/writer)

10-Top Word of the Year: Quillr® (online multimedia storytelling platform)

So…what are your Top Ten of 2009?

Posted in Ebooks, Electronic / Digital Publishing, Epubbing General, Multimedia Storytelling | Comments Off

Seven Secret Clues to Successful Author Self-Promotion (7)
Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

My last clue put you front and centre marketing in cyberspace. Now, my sixth secret drags you from the behind the comforting anonymity of your computer screen into the glare of the public.
Get Off Your Duff! Credit: E. Polinsky

Put on a pair of sunglasses if you have to but get out there and shine.

CLUE 6

Get off Your Freakin’ Duff!

• Scout out personal appearance opportunities, like book readings & book clubs
• Attend relevant tradeshows, arty shows & sell your books
• Visit bookstores, offer to sign stock or do a book signing
• Join groups (local, professional, online) for information and promotional opportunities
• Attend writing conferences & conventions; volunteer on the organising committee and/or ask to be a panellist
• Teach a continuing education course or two at your local college.

Well, only one secret clue left…just in time for celebrating the last days of 2009.

Happy holidays to all.

A good time of year to take stock of what you’ve learned, accomplished, avoided and forgotten!

Tags: self-promotion, writing how to
Posted in Epubbing General, Writing | Comments Off

Seven Secret Clues to Successful Author Self-Promotion (6)
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

Now, you’re really cookin’; possibly dedicating more time marketing your work than you spent writing it!

That’s the reality, if you want folks to know about you and your book.

No More Lounging Around; Get Marketing!

So…it’s time to put some major effort into your virtual presence; fortunately, it’s pretty easy but takes time.

CLUE 5:

Wow the Web:

• Add a signature line to your emails, which includes your book title & links to booksellers

• Create an entertaining & informative web site, using your book’s cover, blurb, a book excerpt, your biography, book reviews, links to booksellers, etc.,

• Blog your head off (You can do this yourself for free using blogging software like WordPress or Blogger. Amazingly, it’s not that hard nor that technical.)
• Build your blog content for a few months (posting at least twice a week) and then list your blog with directories, like Technorati, Blogarama and dmoz
• Attend online chat rooms and social networking sites, like Facebook, Myspace and GoodReads, as well as other sites that are related to your book; for example, mystery authors frequent Crimespace
• Join specialty list serve groups; again, mystery authors love DorothyL
• Share links with other web sites.

If all this is a bit beyond you, don’t fret. At the very least, set up a blog.

It’s simple, it’s free and it can act as your website, your sounding board and your networking hub.

The simplicity, power and capabilities of blogging software have been a revelation for me so I urge you to get posting.

Only a couple of clues left…

Tags: self-promotion, writing how to
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Seven Secret Clues to Successful Author Self-Promotion (5)
Friday, December 18th, 2009

This is when you put your metal to the pedal to the road.

You’ve got some solid marketing pieces together (like a snazzy press release, positive reviews, a professional photo and an intriguing bio) to assist you in successfully self-promoting your book.

Get the Word Out (credit E. Polinsky)

My fourth clue is how and where to use them. After all, your marketing bits and pieces aren’t much good to you if they languish on your hard drive.

CLUE 4:

Get the Word & the Book…OUT THERE:

• Create a blog/website exploding with promotional pieces, such as the book cover, excerpt, reviews, links to booksellers, etc. (see clue #5 for more info)

• Issue press releases online to free sites like or commercial sites like

• Issue press releases to local TV, radio, and a variety of newspapers, both local & national

• Send more review copies to book reviewing web sites, forums, chats groups, newspapers and bookstores

• Create/order a book marketing video trailer & upload to various video sites, like youtube, previewthebook & book-trailers. (If you need advice, have a look at my BookGloss trailers and get in touch)

• Create/order bookmarks, postcards, business cards or flyers using your cover photo as image enhanced with sample book details, such as summary blurb, reviews, bookseller locations, etc.

• Send these to your mailing lists of bookstores, libraries, reporters, fans, relevant organizations, etc.

• Give them to friends, family, strangers; scatter them around town (dentist/doctor/hair stylist)

• Write articles for related magazines, papers, websites and add book related info to your credit/signature line

• Consider attending conferences and seminars focused on related subject matter; nowadays, these often happen ‘virtually’ so you may attend from your desk dressed in jammies

• Offer to speak at local libraries, professional clubs, etc., and consider guest blogging opps

• Comment on relevant websites, blogs, newspapers and add book related info to your signature line

Wow, if you’ve accomplished even half of the above, give yourself another pat on the back.

If you’ve done more, do a little self-congratulatory twirl. You deserve it but don’t get lazy ’cause there’s more ahead in Clue 5.

Tags: author, book signing, Publishing, self-promotion, writing how to
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Shortcovers Rebrands as Kobo
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Pretty interesting day for ebook author and sellers.

Shortcovers, the online bookselling arm of Indigo Books & Music Inc., has spun off into a new chapter. They’ve taken on Borders Group Inc., Instant Fame and REDgroup Retail as partners, and have rebranded themselves as Kobo.

Their press release, in part, says:

Shortcovers is pleased to announce a new chapter in our company’s history: Shortcovers is rebranding with a new name, a new look, and a new round of investment from leaders in the industry.

Today, December 15th, 2009, Shortcovers will begin operating under the name Kobo. Our rebranded website is available today at http://www.kobobooks.com , and updated versions of our mobile applications for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, and Palm Pre are on their way to their respective app stores and our website.

Read the complete press release from Shortcovers here.

This could be very cool and profitable for ebook authors: more markets; more buyers; more dough.

Of course, now I’ve got to change all my links to booksellers!

Tags: ebook, ereaders, kobo, Publishing, shortcovers
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Does the SI Tablet Mean the End of Publishing?
Saturday, December 12th, 2009

With the crop of new e-readers available and the ever-growing list of ebooks available, there is a lot of rumbling and grumbling about the end of publishing as we know it.

UnnaturalStates: John & Harry Battling

As a keen believer in electronic publishing, especially in telling stories in a multimedia platform like our UnnaturalStates, I’m all for evolution in the publishing business.

Church Choir Mysteries: The Unsuitable Suitor

I’m also up for good old-fashioned printed books, with their lovely heft and smell.

And, most shockingly, I don’t see these two positions as being diametrically opposed.

Now, Michael Hyatt offers some excellent predictions on the end of publishing as we know it, as well as offering a video introducing an amazing new multimedia reading device by Time Inc. and Wonderfactory called the SI Tablet.

Check it out. Reading is evolving, whether you like it or not.

Oh, and of course, publishing isn’t ending anytime soon.

Tags: Electronic / Digital Publishing, ereaders, multimedia storytelling, Publishing
Posted in Electronic / Digital Publishing, Multimedia Storytelling, Publishing | Comments Off

Seven Secret Clues to Successful Author Self-Promotion (4)
Thursday, December 10th, 2009

So, now you should be getting the hang of how to promote yourself and your work using my Seven Secret Clues to Successful Author Self-Promotion.

My next, third clue, takes you away from public speaking and into scrounging some key elements for your ‘media kit’.

CLUE 3:

Lounging Lions (credit E. Polinsky)

Get Your Lions in Order

Write a snappy press release announcing the publication of your book for submission to media & online

Pay for a professional photograph

Seek marvellous reviews & blurb/quotes for your cover

Invent an interesting bio; you’re a creative writer, remember?

Brainstorm hooks—like a book’s locale, where you live, went to school, work—to help generate interest & find like-minded buyers

Now, you’ve got the makings for a media kit. Next, Clue 4 reveals how to use them.

Tags: book signing, Publishing, self-promotion, writing how to
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Seven Secret Clues to Successful Author Self Promotion (3)
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

As I mentioned in my previous post, if you are an author considering self-promotion and concerned about costs, don’t sweat.

You don’t have to spend a lot of money but it helps if you follow my Seven Secret Clues to Successful Author Self-Promotion:

CLUE 2:

Be Bold (credit: E. Polinsky)

Swallow Your Shyness and Be Bold

Fake it, if necessary!

Master public speaking:

Practice on your own, in front of a mirror and then with your family and friends. No, it’s not easy; Yes, it can be embarrassing…but just do it. Otherwise, being terrified of speaking in public will seriously hamper your opportunities for promotion

Take a Christopher Leadership-like course: you’ll receive terrific and helpful tips on creating speeches, memory techniques & effective delivery

Join an amateur acting troupe. Not only will you have fun, you’ll begin to appreciate the cadence of dialogue, the power of silence, the varying ways of talking and add to your writing toolbox an understanding of the power of formal speech, colloquialisms and accents

Volunteer to speak at local clubs, business networks, etc.

Offer to read and sign books at local bookstores and libraries.

After all, you want people to read your books, don’t you?

Good. Now you’re ready for the fourth clue…

Tags: book signing, Publishing, self-promotion, writing how to
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Seven Secret Clues to Successful Author Self-Promotion (2)
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

Don't Be Shy (credit E. Polinsky)

Okay, so you’ve made the gutsy decision to put your work and yourself out there.

Great. A tough but necessary step to finding your market.

Now, what do you do?

Well, over my decade-plus years as a published mystery author, I’ve run the gambit of promotional efforts: book signings, attending conferences, giving speeches and interviews, teaching, writing articles/stories, seeking out reviews, creating and sending promotional bumpf like postcards & bookmarks, maintaining a web site presence and now blogging. And I haven’t finished yet.

Gaining Courage (credit E. Polinsky)
It takes time, determination and moxie.

But, it can be done. On your own. Without costing a fortune.

How? Don’t sweat. I’ve got seven secret clues to successful author self-promotion…and you don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to understand them.

CLUE 1:

Competition’s Fierce, So You’ve Got To Have F.L.A.R.E.:

• Be Fresh & Original

• Be Loud both in Voice & Appearance

• Be Articulate for Panels & Interviews

• Be Respectful to Audience, Reviewers & Booksellers

• Have the Endurance to Smile & Survive

See…not so hard, is it?

Tags: book signing, Publishing, self-promotion, writing how to
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