Substance Books
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What's New at Substance Books
Major makeover of the Substance Books website.
Our site is long over due for a face lift.
The objective of the makeover will be to simplify navigation, increase usability and better communicate the services offered.
Substance Book is now offering real time Search Engine Ranking Position "SERP" results to its clients.
Contact Hajni if you wish to take advantage of this new feedback system.
If you do not wish to receive your title's SERP results via this feed, feel free to check results online:
SERP Results for Fiction Titles
SERP Results for Nonfiction Titles
SERP feed is only available to Substance members. Click here to join.
New book category: Metaphysical Fiction
$80.00 listing discount on any title submitted for a two-year campaign!
Submit a book now to save on publicity fees!
Free Facebook and Twitter
recommendation buttons.This project allows our visitors to
recommend our represented titles to their own friends and on
their own Social Networks. If you missed my email regarding, contact Hajni.
This project is only available to Substance members. Click here to join.
Free Network: Online Book Publicity and Promotion
Book Publicity Tip of the Week! Search Engine Optimization Tips for Authors Looking to Sell
Hundreds of subscribers already. Sign-up, it's all free!
Search Engine Optimization tweets & tips for Authors Online Book Publicity tweets & tips for Authors
Free Publicity Project Updates
- Authors' Directory: In progress
- Free Press Release Distribution: Closed
- SEO of all listings: Completed
- Promotional Link Sponsors: Closed
- Free Site Evaluations: In progress
- Free Facebook and Twitter recommendation buttons. In progress
Click if you are interested
in receiving information on: Recent Book Additions
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The Election Darryl Greer Mystery |
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Letters Between Us Linda Rader Overman Novel |
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Absolution Paul Martin Midden Spiritual Novel |
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Toxin Paul Martin Midden Thriller |
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Audacity to Survive Beatrice Edwards Reeves Novel |
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Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis Vaughn Petterson Novel |
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The Drawing Lesson Mary E. Martin Novel |
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Liberation Maria Lucia Fantasy |
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A Season of Transitions R. M. Gibson Romance |
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Beyond Terror Ralph Thornton Crime |
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Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Ilse Wolf Self-help |
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Growing Pains Valorie M. Allen Environment |
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Dr. Greg's Dog Dish Diet Greg Martinez DVM Pet Guide |
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2012: The Year of the Changes Fabio R de Araujo History |
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It's Over R. Keith Martin Current Issues |
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Green Planet Anthony E. Southby Fantasy |
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Selena Hoang Thai Lam Adventure |
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Welcome to all our new members.
We look forward to working with you. |
- By Samantha Rideout, Journalist, Editor & Book Publicity Assistant at Substance Books.
As a professional journalist who writes reviews for magazines, I don't have enough time in the day to read title after title until I find a book that would interest my readers. This is why I like to skim through press releases. These concisely-written documents are designed to give me an idea of what a book is about and to get me interested in doing a story or review about it.
With the help of your own press release, you can reach the avid readers who browse newspapers and magazines looking to learn about new books to buy. You can write it yourself if you have the know-how, or you can order one from a professional publicist or journalist. Either way, a press release provides great bang for your buck, since it costs only a fraction of the price of advertising space in a newspaper or magazine.
A press release can be used over and over again. At book expos, there's usually a press room where reporters and literary reviewers go to collect releases and see which books they might like to write about next. But you don't even have to wait for the next book expo to roll around before you reach journalists: you can send your press release directly to their publications. If it is written well and has a catchy news hook, then you might see your book featured in an upcoming issue. If not, then it costs nothing to reach out to more publications until you do.
Here are some tips on how to write or recognize an effective press release:
Make it newsworthy
With the overwhelming number of books that are published every month, the fact that your book is on the market is not news in and of itself. This is why your press release must catch the attention of journalists in some other way. Ideally, it should connect your book with an event, issue, trend or story that is in the news. If this is not possible, then it should highlight something specific that makes your book unique and interesting. Here are some examples of the type of angles that work, taken from book reviews in the New York Times:
- "Author argues that actress Hedy Lamarr was more interesting than her lackluster place in film history would suggest."
- "Novel explores how difficult it is to be satisfied with the status quo."
- "Psychologist sheds light on how dogs actually experience the world."
Write it in a journalistic style
There are many different styles of writing, from literary to academic. Journalism has its own style, and reporters are far more likely to respond favourably to a press release that uses it. For international guidelines about journalistic writing, the Associated Press Stylebook (ISBN: 978-0-917360-54-1) is a recommended reference.
Target the publication's audience
Take a few minutes to think about which audience would be interested in your book, and then choose a publication that targets a similar audience. Are your main characters motorcyclists? Try sending your press release to a motorcycling specialty magazine. Does your novel take place in a real-life location? Try that town's local newspaper. Consider re-tweaking the press release each time you send it to a dramatically different publication. Choosing appropriate target audiences will not only make it easier to win over the journalists, it will also mean better book sales once the article is published.
Include convenient follow-up information
The press release shouldn't be longer than a page. Its purpose is to grab journalists' attention, and it won't work if it's too long and wordy. However, the easier you make it for journalists to get additional information, the more likely they are to follow-up. Be sure to include contact information for yourself or others who could comment on the book. If you have an online press room, then you can conveniently direct reporters there.
The most effective publicity campaigns advance on several fronts, including online listings, networking, expos and media exposure. With a press release in your arsenal, you're all the more likely to draw attention to your book.
If you're interested in promoting your book with the help of a press release, then you're welcome to contact me at bookpublicity@substancebooks.com. I'm available to write it for you and assist you with distributing it. In doing so, I will draw on my experience as a journalist for various magazines including Reader's Digest. The price of this service depends on your distribution needs and whether or not you would like for your press release to be search-engine optimized. I'd be happy to provide you with a price estimate free of charge.
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Samantha Rideout, Editor & Book Publicity Marketing Assistant at Substance Books. She is a freelance magazine writer, editor and translator. Her work has appeared in the UC Observer magazine, the Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph and La Scena Musicale. She also freelance for Reader's Digest magazine as an editorial fact checker and researcher. Her university degrees are in journalism, world religions and Icelandic literature. Visit her site about Press Release Creation Contact Samantha to discuss how Substance Books could help you with the online exposure of your title. |
- By Dr. Scott Zarcinas, Director at eDistributor.org
So you've written a book, had it published and distributed, and even sold it online and in bookstores. End of story, so to speak.
Not quite. While you've been focused on promoting your printed book (quite rightly), a digital revolution has been gathering behind the screens.
Did you know that Amazon now sells 3 ebooks to every hardcopy? What's more, Amazon predicts that this Christmas period eBooks will outsell all printed books.
There are over 80 ebook retailers around the world selling digital content: the Apple iBookstore, Amazon Kindle store, Books-a-million, Barnes & Noble, Kobobooks, Borders, Waterstones, WH Smith, and many more. Imagine having your titles available for immediate download!
Perhaps you've already thought of digital distribution but are not quite ready to dive in. Here are some thoughts:
- You've already done all the work! If your title is in pdf format, it can be downloaded and read on iPads, iPods, Kindles, Nooks, Kobo readers and of course, PC's and laptops.
- By 2016, 25-35% of all books sold will be ebooks (*predicted value based on 2010 sales).
- The NY Times now includes eBooks on their bestseller list.
- ebooks are more affordable than printed books, making them more attractive to potential readers.
- ebooks never age and always look great; their pages never get musty and yellow.
- You can make more profit from ebooks than from printed books (there are no printing or warehousing costs).
Don't worry, there's help at hand. eDistributor.org is one of the world's largest independent ebook and audio book digital distributors. With coverage of OVER 80 eBook retailers in the USA, Canada, Australia, Europe, India, China, and Africa, we've got every corner of the digital globe covered.
What's more, there are no upfront costs! No joining fees. No membership fees. No hidden costs. We only charge a minimal fee once a sale has been made.
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Dr. Scott Zarcinas, Director at eDistributor.org. Mr. Zarcinas is an active client of Substance Books since 2006. We have had the pleasure of representing his title: Samantha Honeycomb among our great roster of Inspirational Novels. For more information on ebook distribution services, please visit www.edistributor.org or simply email him. |
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Substance Books is an established Online Book Publicity Network offering book publicity campaigns and Search Engine Marketing to authors and publishers. The company drives targeted industry traffic to represented titles. Substance Books offers blog creation, Web design, and virtual Website makeovers.
