The Big Bad Book Blog

Photo courtesy of Hubspot

We’ve written a great deal about building your platform and especially about the benefits of blogging and writing articles to demonstrate your expertise to your audience. Still, you’re always looking for more ways to drive traffic back to your online presence, and ultimately to the bookstore to buy your book.  Another excellent way to achieve this is by serving as a guest blogger.

A guest blogger is someone who does a single post for another individual or group’s blog. This can be a one-time deal or a recurring column, but either case allows you to tap into someone else’s audience. There are many great blogs out there for you to choose from. You can locate blogs related to your platform in a number of ways:

1. Go to the top magazines or associations in your topic. Chances are the editors of the magazine or leaders of the association have at least one blog (sometimes they have several—each one for a different beat).
2. Ask for referrals. Find out from your network what other blogs your audience is following.
3. Check out the competition. Other authors and experts in your field already have a line in with your audience. Grease the wheels by offering to swap guest posts.
4. Look at the blogroll of your favorite sites. Most times bloggers feature the blogs they follow on their tool bar. This is a great (and fast) way to locate additional blogs. You can use sites like Technorati (link) and Alexa (link) to evaluate which blogs have the most traffic so you can develop your strategy and start by focusing your time on the blogs with the largest audiences.

Once you’ve identified blogs related to your topic, you will want to craft a pitch. Before you contact the blogger, check to see if they have posted writer’s guidelines. If so, follow them to the letter. If not, send them a short pitch that includes a specific idea for a post topic and identifies exactly why that post would be of interest to their audience. Close with a short paragraph about your qualifications. Here’s an example of a typical pitch letter:

Dear blogger,

The world of publishing is changing fast. Many of your readers are trying to navigate this evolving landscape, but it can be overwhelming. I propose a post that looks at the pros and cons of each book publishing option available to authors, complete with a short checklist readers can use to identify which route is best for them.

I work at an independent publisher and write articles and white papers related to publishing. You can view samples of my work at www.bigbadbookblog.com.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Author

There are a few other things to consider when pitching a guest blog post:

1. Research the outlet beforehand to make sure it’s appropriate. Bloggers don’t want to get pitched by writers who are outside of their subject area and who don’t have anything to offer their readers.
2. Read some of the posts and make sure that you are providing something unique. If they’ve already done a post on the subject, craft a new angle or choose a different topic.
3. Be considerate of the blogger’s brand. They are building their platform and readership too. Don’t try to hone in on their turf.
4. Keep the self-promotion out of your post. Often you are allowed a short bio and a link back to your website or blog, so focus on creating value and leave the promotion out.

Above all, don’t be afraid to ask. Most bloggers work hard to fill their editorial calendar and are happy to have someone fill in (as long as the topic is relevant). Also, don’t be afraid to consider having someone guest post on your blog as well. They will bring their readers with them and will often add you to their own blogroll. In the realm of social media and blogging, paying it forward really does pay off.

Twitter is a powerful tool. It allows you to connect directly with people of similar interests across the globe. Still, for many people it remains a confusing social media void shrouded in mystery.

In reality, Twitter really is quite simple. This fun video shows you how easy it is to get started and how it works.

We also found this one that explains twitter keywords and hashtags, which are important for targeting your reader.

Now that you have a basic understanding of how to utilize twitter, it’s time to focus on what you should actually say or “tweet” about. Like with anything you do to build your author platform, you need to be answering the reader’s question—“What’s in it for me?” Even at 140 characters, readers are still looking for value. You can provide it through:

News: What’s hot and trending in your topic right now.

Links: What resources are available to educate, inform, and entertain your reader.

Tips: Quick tips and insights to help your reader improve or enhance their lives.

Throughout your posts full of news, links, and tips you also want to sprinkle in some self-promotion and engagement with your readers. A good rule of thumb is to keep promotion to about 20% of your content and focus the rest on providing value to and engaging with the reader.

A few quick tips:

• To add links and still keep your posts to 140 characters, use Tiny links or Bity links
• Add keywords designated with hashtags (mentioned in the video above). This will allow you to get your post in front of people outside of your network. If your tweets are interesting and informational, they’ll start following you.
• Don’t worry about mass. It’s not about how many followers you have, it’s about having the right followers who are interested in your topic and view you as a great resource/expert.
• Social media is a two way street. Engage with readers, answer their questions, and share other people’s informative posts.

Here are some popular hashtags related to writing and publishing:

#dearauthor: Notes and tips from industry professionals to authors.

#dearpublisher: Notes and questions from authors to publishers.

#publishing: News, trends, and information on publishing.

#pubtips: Tips on getting your manuscript picked up by an agent or publisher.

#writing: Information on the craft of writing.

#amwriting: Updates on what you are writing now.

#WIP: Work in progress.

#writegoal: Share your daily writing goal.

#womeninpublishing an #meninpublishing: Focus on the men and women in the industry.

#books: All things related to books.

Title: Get Over Yourself! 7 Principles to Get Over Your “Self” and on with Your Destiny

Author: Jennifer Beckham

Genre: Christian Life/Women’s Issues

Publisher: Cross Over Press, 2009

Review:

Most women would admit to fantasies of one day becoming a princess. In her book Get Over Yourself!, author and minister Jennifer Beckham shares her personal journey as she achieved the coveted status of a Disney princess, only to find that her dream brought her more misery and heartache. It wasn’t until she learned to “get over herself,” developed her faith, and overcame the negative thoughts and emotions ruling her life that she finally achieved happiness. From her journey emerged “7 Princess Principles,” rules that any woman—but especially women of faith—should follow to achieve balance, happiness, self-worth, and a full spiritual life.

With a personable style that is both no-nonsense and compassionate, Beckham blends Christian principles, anecdotes, expert quotes, and actionable advice with observations and examples from her own life to weave a positive message of ownership over one’s destiny. Though clearly directed to a Christian audience, non-Christian women can also find sound guidance in her advice on how to take ownership over your thoughts, feelings, and actions to achieve the life you want and are meant to have.

Throughout the book, Beckham emphasizes the control each individual has over the many negative messages vying for influence and stresses that each person has the power to silence the negative messages and find strength and solidarity within. She also stresses how important faith is to this journey. Specifically, she talks about true faith being a conscious commitment, not a wavering search for a “feeling” of faith.

Beckham highlights many passages from the Bible, which demonstrate the arguments of faith behind her principles and ground her ideas in Christian wisdom. She also makes her advice applicable to many real-world circumstances, including dieting and relationships, showing readers exactly how to implement her principles and strategies in any situation. Beckham further makes her content actionable by offering up “ABC’s” at the end of every chapter that ask the reader to reflect on the concepts in the chapter, complete an exercise to deepen her understanding of the concept, and to acknowledge the negative thoughts and beliefs that had been holding her back from achieving the life she wants.

Overall, Beckham presents ideas that are both inspirational and actionable and which teach women to overcome their fairytale conceptions of happiness to find real, honest peace and happiness through faith and ownership. Women interested in personal development, inspiration, and Christian literature would enjoy this book.

Interested in having your book reviewed? Learn more here!

Let’s face it, the children’s book market is one of the most competitive spaces in the retail booktrade.Your book is not only measured against the huge number of children’s books being created every day, but is also going up against all the mainstays like Richard Scarry, Dr. Seuss, and Eric Carle who are so beloved, they don’t have to fight for shelf space. Competition is so fierce that even when every piece of your project is perfectly executed, and you’ve convinced, cajoled, and charmed your way into retail channels, it’s still a small miracle to see your book on shelves in the company of Little Bear or Sheep in a Jeep.

But to get there, the book does have to be perfectly executed, which is the first step (or impediment) to success. Based on the submissions we see, I’d like to share my top three considerations for creating a successful children’s book:

Incredible Illustrations

The importance of high-quality, professionally executed illustrations cannot be overemphasized. Characters and storyboards must be conceived and carried out by experienced children’s book illustrators. In this arena “cute” isn’t good enough—illustrations have to be dazzlingly perfect, and creative to boot. A traditional style of illustration, like this, can give a book a classic look, while a more quirky style, like this, can help differentiate your title. I recommend getting a third-party, professional opinion of sample illustrations before committing to an artist. Asking library buyers, literary agents, book publicists, or book distributors for feedback is a good start. It’s always wise to compare the quality of your book to comparable titles that have sold well in bookstores.

A Unique Story

Because of all those kids’ books published every year, you have to have a new message (or a least a new spin on an old message) for children and parents. If you’re thinking about writing a book about a popular topic like friendship, bullying, or nightmares, figure out how to approach it in a new way. You could do this with an unexpected story, funky characters, an innovative rhyme scheme, or unusual illustrations. Sometimes choosing an unaddressed topic and picking a specific niche can give you a built-in fan base. For example, topics like vegetarianism, knitting, meditation, or debt might be places where the market has holes that could be filled.

High-Quality Production

Similar to illustrations, the production of kids’ books has to be exceedingly high quality. To ensure the printing quality, make sure to do your background research on printers you’re thinking of using. Ask printers to send you a sample with specifications similar to your book’s so that you can physically assess paper, ink, and binding quality. Adding interactive parts to a book, like sound, mirrors, pop-ups or puppets, can also help it stand out, though beware of expense when considering these types of technology. If you want your book in retail outlets, it’s best to print your book with an offset printer, as opposed to print on demand—the quality is significantly higher with an offset press, and bookstores require their books to be returnable.

Common Mistakes

On the flipside, here are a few common mistakes we see on a regular basis:

Too Much Text per Page

We see a lot of kids’ submissions that have far too much text per page. For a children’s picture book, which are usually targeted at ages 4–8, text can be as minimal as you want it to be, but it’s generally a bad idea to exceed more than 70–80 words per two-page spread. Shooting for 0–30 words per page is ideal—when it comes to the amount of text per page, less is always more.

Unclear Age Group

It is sometimes unclear what age group an author is aiming for, and as a result, the book doesn’t really fit in any category. Oftentimes, books take an approach to their topic that is too complex for 4–8 year-olds, hurting its chances for retail. Similarly, we also see picture books with between 60 and 70 pages, which is too long for younger children. A 32-page picture book is generally meant for ages 4–8, so it’s important that your topic and diction are age-appropriate.

Too-High Price

As we’ve mentioned before on the Big Bad Book Blog, the retail price range for a book is very limited and determined by the retail buyers. Charging $1 more for your book than other authors are charging could have a severely negative impact on sales. Most hardcover children’s books are between $9.95 and $16.95, with $14.95 being ideal in most situations. Board books are typically $4.95 to $6.95.

A note about money: it is important to consider profit margins before starting production on a children’s book since the printing price per unit is significantly higher than other books because of the color interior, and the price point is very low due to the competitive landscape. You want to make sure you’ve considered all costs before getting started so that you have a plan to recoup them.

If you have already written a book, or even if you are just considering writing one, you may have asked yourself what it is that publishers are looking for. Unfortunately, there is no magic formula a writer can follow for guaranteed publication. What works and doesn’t work varies by genre, publisher, and other factors outside of the writer’s control. Still, there are some basic elements every publisher considers when evaluating a potential project. Those elements are: content, market, competitive titles, and author platform. We will cover each element in basic terms for the purpose of this post, but we do provide greater details on each of categories in our free white paper “What Publishers Want.”

Content

Though certain elements vary between fiction and nonfiction, any book, no matter what the genre, must be compelling, marketable, and memorable.

Compelling: It must be a topic that people are interested in.

Marketable: There must be a significant number of people interested in the topic.

Memorable: The writing should be good and should stick with the reader.

Market

Publishing is a business. In order for publishers (and authors) to make money, they need to sell books. So, when publishers look at a project they ask themselves: What is the market for this book? Who would be interested in this topic? How many people constitute that segment of the population? How often do they buy books and for what reasons? You need to be able to answer those questions before you even start writing.

Competitive Titles

The next thing publishers consider is your competition. This is key for many reasons. First of all, it shows them who your market is and the size of your market’s demand. If books on your topic are doing well, they are more likely to consider your work. Second, publishers look at how your book differs from the competition. If you provide enhanced content, an innovative approach, new research, or a more user-friendly voice, then they will be more likely to consider looking at and possibly acquiring your book. However, if your book is too similar to an existing one (especially one that has done well), or if your content is weak or poorly executed in comparison, then a publisher will be less willing to consider your project.

Platform

We discussed this in great detail before, and we can’t stress enough how important it is when evaluating your potential success as an author. Publishers need to know that you have identified your audience, that you are speaking to the needs and wants of your audience, and that you are continually and actively engaged with them even before you have a book.

Understanding how your book measures up in terms of content, market, competitive titles, and platform is essential to your publishing efforts. Weakness in any area can be improved upon, but too many issues in one or more categories can seriously hinder your chances of being published.