publishing

4 Steps to Getting Your Book On “Amazon’s Hot New Releases” List

/ Tina Bausinger / 1 Comment

Hot New Release

Yes, it’s possible, even for Indie publishers.

My book, Cold Coffee and Speed Limits hit #6 on Amazon’s “Hot New Releases” Parenting and Family Humor category. It was released less than a week ago and I don’t have any major publishers or big-time book reviewers backing me. For brief shining moment, my book was in front of Whoopi Goldberg’s and Jim Gaffigan’s!  It’s updated hourly.

I published my first novel through a traditional small press publisher (so yes, someone bought it and I signed an actual contract), but when it was time to put out my second book I decided to do it Indie-style–on my own.

Here’s what I’ve done–and it’s WORKED.

1. I promoted my book on social media for the last 6 months. I used Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest the most.I’ve been posting little teasers on my Facebook posts.I created a Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest page for my book. It’s free advertising. I chatted it up to my friends, who also chatted it up with their friends. Word of mouth goes a long way!

2. For the last year, I’ve been blogging. This has cost me nothing but my time, although I have invested in a nice-looking template and a few other goodies. Blogging has helped establish me as an “expert” in my field as well as given me material for my book. In addition, it helps my “Google-ability” or my social media presence. I don’t blog JUST about my book (nobody wants to read just commercials!), but it’s one of the topics I cover.  I’ve also gained readers who are interested in my blog about parenting teens, so naturally many of these same readers are also interested in buying a book about the same topic. If you spend time giving people valuable information (or inspiration, or entertainment), they will come back for more.

3. I had a professionally designed cover made. When I was working on my draft, I had a really cute picture of my son and his girlfriend for the temporary cover, then I asked my friend Josh Kennah who’s a pro in graphics and marketing to help me. I paid him in ENCHILADAS, people. I mean, they’re pretty good enchiladas, but I know he was on the losing end of this deal. A professionally designed cover sets you apart and gives you an edge.

Tina Book Cover

4. I recruited people to help me. In exchange for an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC), readers promised to 1) give me HONEST feedback 2) tell me of any spelling/grammar/continuity issues 3) write a short review and 4) help me promote my book on social media. It’s a cheap price to pay, AND I placed excerpts of the reviews in the beginning of the book so that people who were just checking it out might be motivated to KEEP READING.  This cost me nothing. When my book was released, I asked these guys (as well as others) to go on Amazon and post a review there. Reviews (even less than 5 stars!) add a legitimacy to your book.

So remember, PLAN AHEAD. You don’t have big bucks for promotion, but you do have to spend some time. It’s all worth it to see your book on the list!

Get Tina Coleman Bausinger’s book Cold Coffee and Speed Limits today!

Seeking Submissions: Sweet Tea and Southern Sunrises: 100 Stories of Strength and Inspiration

/ Tina Bausinger

TinaBausinger

Seeking Submissions: Sweet Tea and Southern Sunrises: 100 Stories of Strength and Inspiration from Southern Women (tentative title)

Are you a Southern woman who has a great story? Are you tired of the way media portrays us? Do you have a story that will inspire others? I’m looking for your true story that emphasizes the good qualities of Southern women—our strength, our resilience, even our stubbornness. I will also consider poetry about Southern women or living in the South.

Stories must be between 500-1200 words. If your story is chosen, you will keep the rights to it. Although you won’t be paid, you will be published in an ebook that I will edit and put together. Your name will be listed among contributors. If there is enough interest, the book might be published in a more traditional manner.

Here are some possible ideas to get you going, but are in no way meant to limit your creative energy!
1. Growing up in the South: the good and bad
2. Facing or encountering stereotypes (either as a woman or as a Southerner)
3. Encountering/conquering racism
4. Breaking cycles of poverty/being the first in your family to get a degree
5. What your mother taught you
6. What you want to teach your daughter
7. Southern ingenuity—making the best of a bad situation or coming up with unique solutions
Email your submissions to tinaboss71@yahoo.com

5 Writing Opportunities for College Students

/ Tina Bausinger

studying

Are you a college student who wants to be a published writer? What’s stopping you? Here are a couple of places you might not have thought of to break into publishing, and why it’s silly NOT to try.

http://www.freelancewriting.com/articles/ff-writing-opportunities-for-college-students.php

Want to Publish With Chicken Soup for the Soul? Here’s Some Advice!

/ Tina Bausinger

Ever wonder how Chicken Soup for the Soul finds all their stories? I know! Read here for advice on submitting and publishing with them.chicken soup TD

http://www.freelancewriting.com/articles/ff-perfect-your-story-recipe.php

Guest Blog:Traci Borum

/ Tina Bausinger / 2 Comments

painting the moon

Please enjoy this guest entry from my good friend Traci Borum. I’ve known her for eight years now…that can’t be possible! She was my creative writing teacher and a great source of encouragement as we both kept receiving rejection after rejection when we were both seeking publishers for our novels. We had a friendly “competition” wherein we sent each other copies of the most biting/most banal rejection letters, and laughed at the amount of rejections a person could receive in a week.
Her first novel, Painting the Moon, is getting rave reviews and the second installment is coming soon!

To Publish or Not to Publish… by Traci Borum

When I teach creative writing, I don’t spend much time discussing how to get published. I’d rather spend time teaching the nuts and bolts of technique or story structure, letting the writing itself be the main focus for students. But when I do talk about publication in the classroom, I always ask students a seemingly simple question: Why do you want to get published?

Sometimes, they actually don’t. Probably a third of all my students express no desire (at this stage of their lives, at least) to see their work in print. A decision I completely respect. These students tell me their reasons: that they’re shy about sharing their work with the public, or that publishing their work makes it less special somehow, or that selling their work makes them feel like they’re selling out.

Some writers simply enjoy the solitude and privacy of sharing their thoughts only with themselves. They want to protect what’s theirs, not let anyone else see it.

But for those who do wish to pursue publication, they first should know why. Is it for the money they think they’ll receive? The fame? Is it for validation of their work? Legitimacy? Because the answer to these questions will be the only things keeping you going when you receive rejection after rejection (or absolute silence, which has now become an acceptable form of rejection).

When you wonder why you’re spending dozens of hours researching agent and publisher submission guidelines if it all ends with no result. When your family and friends probably think you’re crazy for still submitting after all these years. And when you wonder, “How long is long enough? When do I quit trying?”

Here’s my own answer to that “why publish” question. For years, I’ve pursued publication for various reasons: wanting people’s genuine feedback, hoping readers gain some entertainment/escape from my books (just like I receive when I read fiction), and even something as simple as seeing my words bound in print form (opening up my own softback of Painting the Moon weeks ago was a highlight of my life—I felt like Charlie, opening his Wonka candy bar and finding the Golden Ticket peeking through the wrapper. Very surreal).

The weird thing about getting published is that the act of being published didn’t change my stories, didn’t suddenly make them more important or more valuable than when I first put them on paper. But, for me, my stories and characters did seem to gain a new “life,” a new energy, when others read them. One of my favorite quotes by author Kate Morton sums it up well: “No matter how much I adore writing, no matter the pleasure my stories give me, it isn’t until books are read that they really start to breathe.”

I admit—it’s a huge rush when a friend or relative or stranger reads my work and tells me about it. Through that experience, we’ve shared something unique. It’s like they’ve taken a peek into a very personal corner of who I am. There’s an invisible connection between a reader and author when a book is read. A connection that’s hard to explain, hard to pinpoint. And to me, that’s what ultimately makes getting published special. And worth all the effort.

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4 Paths To Publishing for Newbies

/ Tina Bausinger / 3 Comments

So you’ve finished your novel, and think it’s ready to go. Of course you know that self-publishing is an option, but for your particular work you’d like to get it into the hands of an agent or a smaller press. How do you go about finding someone to publish it?
1. Get a copy of the 2017 Writer’s Market. This will help you locate people or presses interested in your particular genre. If you write Young Adult fiction and approach a publisher or agent who only handles horror, you’re wasting your time. It’s like offering a steak to a vegan. No dice.
2. You can also get a copy of the 2014 Guide to Literary Agents if you don’t want to consider a smaller press. A large press is harder to pitch an unpublished writer to, so you must have an agent for representation. This book is an expansive guide to exactly which agents are looking for what. The same rule applies in that you must spend time looking for only those agents who represent your kind of work.
3. Go to a writer’s conference. There are great conferences all over the country that offer a short meeting with an agent as part of the conference fee. Even if you don’t gain representation, writer’s conferences are gold mines of information for writers in all stages of their work. The best writer’s conference I’ve been to is the DFW Writer’s Conference in Dallas, Texas. I have never walked away from that conference empty handed–I always learn valuable tips for writing and publishing. http://dfwcon.org/

4.Think about who you know. If you are an unpublished writer, the key is to get published somewhere, even if you don’t get paid at first. The longer your resume is, the more impressed a jaded agent will be. Some places to consider are local magazines and newspapers and contests. One of the very first places I published was an editorial for my local paper in Arkansas. That gave me the courage to submit a short story to my college’s literary arts journal. A while later, I revamped the story and submitted it to Chicken Soup for the Soul where they accepted it for publication. Having a story published in a nationally known brand like Chicken Soup really helped increase my credibility as a writer, and it helped when I approached big agents to at least look at my work. That’s what we are hoping for at first right? Just to get that “Ok, send it to me,” from the agent or editor of our choice. Getting your work in the hands of an agent is the very first step to approaching a book deal.