Marketing Tools For Cheap Writers

The Tools for Finding Your Market

Somewhere out there, your topic of expertise is being discussed in newsletters, e-zines, magazines, newspapers, radio shows and TV shows. Scads of people, hungry for new information on your topic, eagerly tune into these publications/broadcasts to learn more about your topic.

Wouldn't it be great if, rather than trying to drum up interest in your book among people who don't care, you could instead take your book to those who are looking for materials on your topic? How can authors/publishers introduce their books to the venues that are eagerly looking for their writings?

Directories are the GPS systems for book marketers, showing us where to find the niche writers and publications that want to freely expose their readership/viewership to our books.

How to Access These Tools

The three ways to access this information seem to be:

1) Ask your publisher or publicist to print off information for you. They're likely to have a paid subscription to online services that give the latest information in a searchable format. Typically, this would be a bit expensive for individual authors to access personally, without going through your publicist.

2) Go to a regional library or university. Small library may carry only very dated versions. I don't have time spend long hours researching this stuff at the library, since I care for my 103-year-old granny next door. I do my work in two-hour stretches.

3) Buy hard copies yourself. This way, you can pull them down during those 15-30 minute free moments (I get a lot done in 15 minute segments.) But who can afford to purchase these huge sets? This morning I found a better way.

Library Sales

My wife and I cherish our bi-yearly date to the Cobb County Library Sale. Since I have a book coming out this month, I was in a marketing mode. It didn't occur to me until I arrived that large libraries must replace their dated marketing directories each year. Sure, some are a year or two out of date, but I can always update the names, phone numbers and e-mail contact information by going to websites.

I was so excited with my success that I wanted a picture with my prize acquisitions. (If only books had antlers!) Here are some of the great reference books I got:

$1 per volume: Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media (2008, 5 vols.). The cost for a new one is over $1,000, or used at Amazon for $75 + shipping. ("the definitive media source," including newspapers, magazines, radio stations, TV stations, cable systems, names of key personnel, etc.

50 cents per volume: Literary Marketplace (2007, 2 Vols). Costs $300 new. Get it used on Amazon for $20 plus shipping. ("The directory of the book publishing industry." Includes publishers, literary agents, awards and prizes, calendar of events, books and magazines for the trade.)

$1 per volume: Ulrich's Periodicals Directory(2008, 5 Vols) Get it used on Amazon for $235 ("...the premier serials reference source in the world." Find over 200,000 magazines, e-zines, newspapers, newsletters, contact information, circulation, etc.)

So, I saved well over $1000 compared to new prices or or over $300 over the used ones. I got invaluable reference tools I'll use continually over the coming years for $11.

Next year, show up at the library sale!

Help Readers Find You With Search Terms

The Web has revolutionized marketing. Before the Web, "interruption marketing" prevailed - marketers interrupted readers/listeners from their articles/TV programs with an advertisement about a product they weren't searching for.

Today, millions of people are searching for information on the Web. As writers, we don't have to interrupt them to get their attention. We simply need to put useful information out there and make it easy for those searching for our information to find us.

Employing key search terms can help. Since I'm currently writing on personal finance, I want to know what terms people use to search for the information I'm providing. By using those terms in my titles, first paragraphs, links and in other prominent places, people will more likely find me when they do a Google or Yahoo search for those terms. So whether I'm writing a blog, a press release, a book title or subtitle (they will be searched on Amazon, for example), a book description, or a web page, I need to know how people are searching for this information.

First, I went to Google's tool for finding key words and phrases in Google Ad Words. (If the url has changed do a Google search for a phrase such as "find key words". Several sites have tended to offer these tools.) I did two searches, one on "money" and another on "finances."

Second, I deleted all the terms that didn't relate to the specific money topics I write on.

Finally, I ordered them according to search frequency.

Below, I've listed some of my results, telling me how many times each of these terms were searched, on average, in any given month.

Here are some of the ways that this information is useful to me:

1) People searching with the term “money” seem to be primarily searching for how to “make money” and “earn money.” 15 out of 19 (I found more terms than those I listed below) search terms were specifically about making and getting money. Make sure these terms are all over my articles and web pages concerning working, developing your skills, etc. at www.enjoyyourmoney.org .

2) Knowing what information people are hungry for helps me narrow down topics for future articles.

3) In searching “finances,” people are looking for financial advice or help, particularly with managing expenses and budgeting. I can use those terms when writing on those topics.

4) Obviously, work these key terms into my titles, headings, first paragraphs, links, etc. Titles are no longer determined solely by what's memorable and what's clever.

5) Since budgeting is often misspelled “budgetting,” and searched 2,400 times as such, I might include it on an appropriate page in places seen only by search engines, such as my meta tags or as a name for a graphic.

6) Use these terms as tags when I blog on those subjects.

7) Remember such significant, but not intuitively obvious, facts as “personal finances” being searched 33,100 times, but the singular form, “personal finance,” being searched 550,000 times!

8) Don't forget to use less searched terms at times (not included below), since so many large sites with massive traffic and incoming links will get priority placement by search engines for their use of those terms.

Other reflections or comments? Click below and join the discussion!

Search Terms for "Money" (includes synonyms) Over 1,000,000 Searches Money 24,900,000 Make money 2,240,000 Dollars 2,240,000 Earn 1,830,000 Over 100,000 Earn money 368,000 Ways to make money 135,000 Over 20,000 Getting money 49,500 How to earn money 27,100 Money making ideas 27,100 Lots of money 27,100 Easy ways to make money 22,200 Money manager 22,200

Search Terms for "Finances" (includes synonyms) Over 1,000,000 Searches Finance 16,600,000 Over 100,000 Personal finance 550,000 Expenses 450,000 Expense 450,000 Budgeting 246,000 Financial management 246,000 Finances 201,000 Money management 135,000 Budgets 110,000 Over 20,000 Financial help 90,500 Financial service 90,500 Financial information 60,500 Finance calculator 60,500 Financial plan 49,500 Financial advice 40,500 Personal finances 33,100 Financial 33,100 Household finance 27,100 Student finance 27,100

Teamwork in Writing

Must writers perfect all aspects of writing, so that they can personally take an idea and flesh it out into a manuscript acceptable to publishers? Can we all be expected to dream up a story, write every word with flawless grammar, organize it into neat chapters, emotionally connect with readers and create unforgettable titles?

In some writers' cases, perhaps yes. But in my own writing, as well as many others, I'm seeing a lot of teamwork. Case in point: Writer's Digest recently interviewed James Patterson, holder of The New York Times bestsellers record at 42. He's sold more than 150,000,000 books worldwide!

While some frown upon coauthoring, he freely admits that he teams up with other writers. Typically, he comes up with the idea and writes an outline. He shows it to his agents and one will say he could write a book from that outline. The coauthor writes the first draft and Patterson takes that draft and writes subsequent drafts. For example, regarding the book Sundays at Tiffany's, Patterson says, "I worked with a co-writer, and then I wrote seven drafts."

He notes that most movie scripts and TV shows are written by teams. "In America, we get so caught up in individualism and heroes. I'm big on teams." "I have a file of stories that's 400 pages thick, and they're stories that I want to tell."

If I understand what Patterson's saying, he's an idea machine. He loves dreaming up story lines. Then, he drops it off to someone else to write it. Finally, he takes that draft and polishes it.

He doesn't do it all. He doesn't want to do it all. He doesn't feel obligated to do it all. He relishes the teamwork and celebrates it.

In my case, I research and write my manuscripts, but then give them out to many people to get their input before I re-shape the manuscript. Then, I give it to people who spot grammatical infractions as readily as a preppies spot fashion infractions. After that, of course, I send it to the publisher for final editing or to a professional editor if I'm self-publishing.

My point? If you can do it all and love to do it all, go for it! But since people differ so much in their strengths and talents, surely many writers will be great at creating story ideas, but lack the patience to sit down and write a 500 page story. Others can choose just the perfect word or delight in putting those words into creative sentences and paragraphs that wow us plain writers. Some come up with catchy titles; others love painstaking research.

So if you find yourself stalling out for some reason, stop and reflect. Could it be that God has gifted you for one or two parts of the writing process, and He wants you to team up with others to complete the parts that frustrate you? Teams have certainly worked for James Patterson. It's hard to argue with 42 bestsellers and 150,000,000 books sold.

What are your ideas on teamwork? How do you use teamwork in your writing? I'd love to hear your comments.

DePoy On Writing

Yesterday, the Georgia Writers Association hosted Phillip DePoy, director of theater for Clayton State University. DePoy has written nine published books, two published plays, and thirty-seven theater pieces that have seen production throughout the country. Kirkus calls Phillip DePoy, "a master of Southern storytelling." A recent reviewer called his Fever Devilin novels "some of the best regional fiction being written in America today."

His latest book is The Drifter's Wheel: A Fever Devilin Novel (Fever Devlin)

More convincing than all the above ad copy is that my wife Cherie bought a copy of his latest book and couldn't turn out the light until she finished it at 1:00 this morning.

I almost didn't attend, reasoning, "I've heard the guy before...and after all, I write nonfiction." But I'm glad I went. I'm always glad I attend these monthly meetings. Why?

First, it's simply fun to hang out with other writers. I chatted with a successful history writer and a fantasy writer who's on page 500 of her fantasy novel. I also met a corporate communications writer, a beginning novelist and a Hospice chaplain writing stories about his encounters with the dying. One of the writers grew up in Germany and had a personal encounter with Adolf Hitler in her classroom!

Second, we all need each other. One writer needed an editor and found one at the meeting. Another needed encouragement to move forward with a project. I think he came away motivated and encouraged! I needed more inside information on the business of writing. A conversation afterward helped. Young authors don't seem to understand that so much of successful writing involves relationships within the writing industry. This is the place to connect.

Third, I always learn something from the presenters. Here were some of my takeaways from DePoy:

1) Overcome rejection. Publishers rejected the manuscript of his first novel over 5,000 times.

2) Get an agent. You'll need one to get a traditional publisher. Ideally, your agent should live in New York City, so that she hangs out with editors and takes them to lunch. It's all about relationships. So the editor mentions between bites of her bagel, "What we'd really like are a few intriguing memoirs." The agent replies, "Hey, I represent an author who's three quarters of the way finished with his memoir. Would you like to take a look?" That's the way deals happen.

3) "I write every day. I wrote this morning before I drove up from Atlanta." He says that only a small percentage of what he writes gets published. But put out the volume, and some of it will get out there.

4) To sharpen your story-telling skills, study the ancient stories and epic fables that have passed the test of time. What are their characteristics? Basically, the great stories are being told over and over, dressed up with different characters, settings and distinct voices. Study the stories that lasted and you'll improve your own stories. (George Lucas did this and used the results in creating Star Wars.)

5) Sum up your manuscript in three intriguing sentences. Publishers go through hundreds of proposals each day. They may read but a few sentences of most of them. If he likes those sentences, he may read more. If he likes your proposal, he will use those sentences to pitch it to the marketing department. Then the marketing department will use those sentences to sell it to bookstores.

Did you miss your writer's meeting this month? Calendar the next one!