Your Image

If you have published your book, you will want to find readers. More than you might have ever imagined, you will be promoting yourself everywhere…from the many places found on the www, to newspapers, book signings, radio and television interviews (let’s think big) and more. In no time a simple internet search can bring up all kinds of information and pictures of you and your book.

To your friends and family, you are most likely loved and accepted, but to the rest of the world, (at first anyway) you are a name on a book. Creating your author (or public) image is important, and there are a few things to keep in mind.

Pictures of you hanging out with the guys, drinking beer and partying hard is just as bad as a picture of you at a cluttered table with laundry on the floor or inappropriately dressed. Now, if you think I am exaggerating, take a few minutes to look up authors online, on facebook, Goodreads or Amazon. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I’m not telling you to run out and get a $200 professional head shot. With today’s digital cameras you can ask someone to take a ‘nice’ picture of you that can be used.

OK, good, now we have a ‘nice’ picture.

What about the rest of your image? One of the first things you should do is separate your personal facebook page from your author/book page. Readers might not appreciate what goes on between you and your friends as much as you might think. Watch your language and what you post. Try and keep it book related or at least in good taste. Have fun relating to your followers, and just keep it clean.

If you have a blog or a website, keep in mind that first impressions are important so you’ll want to have some order or structure to you pages. Think about what the viewer will see when he or she first arrives on your page. Make sure your sites are user friendly. Place the ‘follow button’ close to the top of your page where it is visible if you want people to follow you. Limit the number of posts per page (2-3 is enough), I have seen blogs that had one endless page. No one wants to scroll down more than a page or two; it’s easier to click on a link to get to what you want. A search button is also very helpful.

The media kit makes a good template if you are not sure what to post on your author page. Make sure all of the elements are included, either in categories (or pages) throughout your site or if you are limited to a single page on a joint site simply place all items on your single information page. If you do not have or know what a media kit is, check here: http://amethysteyesauthor.blogspot.ca/2012/03/media-kit.html .

If you are part of an author group then you will want to be sure that everyone maintains a certain level of professionalism. One bad or inappropriate page can be enough to turn readers off the site all together. If you are uncertain of HOW to create your media pages/sites ASK. There are enough people out there who are willing to help. I’ll gladly help any way I can.

Take the image you project seriously...because your readers most certainly will.

Author Platform

   The other day I came across someone who mentioned going into a bookstore and never giving a second thought to what was involved in the “from writer’s desk to bookstore shelf” process. I had never thought about it before, either.
    An enormous amount of work goes into writing a book, and unfortunately, even more work is required once you intend to market that book, (regardless of how the book is published).
    Do you remember, “If you build it, they will come”? As an author, the it does NOT refer to your book. Think about it…you wrote a book. Why haven’t people started knocking on your door, asking for a copy? Why haven’t bookstores called, sent letters or emails hoping they could have copies on their shelves? In reality, the it refers to your author platform. If you don’t get out there and tell the world about your product, no one will know and no one will buy. When a car company comes out with a new design, they shout it out to the world through television, newspaper, internet, radio, flyers, and any other way necessary to market their new product. They have the power and means to reach out to millions of people. What are you doing about your book?

    You need an author platform.

    Your author platform is just that, a ‘platform’, made to raise you above the others, to make you visible. Maintaining it will soon become a 20 hour/week job. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, you need a media kit. You need to create an author and/or a book page on facebook. You should have a blog, a website, use twitter, (and LinkedIn if you are a professional writing non-fiction). Then there are press releases, radio and television, book signings and author presentations…to name a few.
 
     Now, keep this in mind…It is important to create a professional image. It is important to pace yourself so you can create and keep up with your posts and activities in a professional manner. Don’t over-promote yourself…( vary subjects on your blog/posts/tweets…promote others, talk about book related topics, review other books, have people participate in discussions, share what your working on, share personal snippits and anecdotes, but don’t keep throwing your book in peoples face daily…get creative, have fun, be real. You don’t want to be like that salesman who jumps on a customer before he door has even closed.) Don't be an annoying salesman...have fun being an author

The Media Kit

As promised, the Media Kit.

In all honesty, I did not know what this was. Now don’t get me wrong, I understood what it was supposed to be, without knowing exactly what it should be composed of. Within the space of a week I had heard about, saw one, followed a webinar on it and made my own. Since my book is now on a blog tour, this quickly became a great tool to have on hand. It kept me from having to repeat the same information over and over again, made sure I didn’t leave out any details, and in some cases, offered more info than requested.

OK, so here goes:

            -you should have a professional head shot, (link to the photo in high resolution),

            -your resume (especially if you write non-fiction),

            -your biography,

            -interview topics,

            -media appearances, (links)

            -a high resolution picture of your book,

            -the book blurb,

            -an excerpt from the book,

            -other people’s comments, reviews and recommendations,

            -the link to your book trailer,

            -contact info: email, facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, blog, web page, etc.

            -purchase links: Amazon, B&N, Chapters, etc.

Add to it as you see fit. The idea is to have an instant package that can be shipped off in a matter of seconds.

You will not regret the time spent on this. You end up with a professional tool that will quickly become indispensible.