Make friends with Book Bloggers and get exposure

Before You Begin: All Links Are In Green - Just Click

I think when Amanda Hocking tapped into the book blogger pile she hit her Valhalla! In her own words "Something Magical Happened." That was how Amanda Hocking descried the impact book bloggers had on sales of her self-published books.

Amanda published her first nine books between March through August of 2010. She had no idea what to expect, and like most of us waited with baited breath. Over that period of time she had Kindle sales of around 500 E-Books. Though that wasn't enough to make her give up her day job, she was persistent.

Between working and writing she tapped into the world of book bloggers and her sales took a huge spike upward. By the end of 2010 her book sales tallied 164,000.

Amanda stated in her blogs she had no idea those kind of people existed; people who just read books
and write about them taking time out of their busy lives to talk about books, have contests
and connect with followers and writers and other readers. They became her heros.

Bloggers reach millions of readers 

Book bloggers love to read books and will mostly recommend them to their own followers. There are a plethora of avid bloggers in every book genre out there reviewing thousands of books and interviewing hundreds of authors every year. Book bloggers are a very diverse crowd: some have day jobs in the book business, many more are stay-at-home moms and dads and students.

Two of the most increasingly influential book blogs are Fantasy Cafe and Write Meg. (These two do not currently review self published authors as far as I know, but that may have changed), but they have contributed to them greatly. Why? Because they collectively build markets that can reach millions of potential readers and can turn books into bestsellers. They are serious and discerning critics and social networkers. They have formed regional and national organizations and established huge databases, including this searchable Book Blogs Search Engine which includes a list of more than 1,400 bloggers where you WILL find bloggers to review your book.

Marketing yourself to book bloggers is not for everyone. It takes time and energy you might prefer to spend writing, or cultivating other gardens. But it’s definitely one of the most powerful new ways to get your work in the hands of readers available today. Don't hesitate if someone offers you the chance to join a book blog tour - especially if it's in your genre. They can prove profitable in getting your book out there as well as your name.

Mainstream publishers take note

Samantha Rubenstein, a publicist at John Wiley & Sons says, "We think book bloggers are the absolute best way to get your book to exactly the right people who are interested in your topic, whatever it is. Reaching out to specific book bloggers is a large and important part of a book’s publicity and increasing by leaps and bounds every six months.”

The publishing industry has welcomed the bloggers into the fold, including them in the annual Book Expo in New York, coming up in May 2012. The Book Bloggers Convention, which will follow the official Book Expo, will feature face time with authors and panels on topics like blogging for niche markets and technology for bloggers.

Below is how to get started with book bloggers

Research

Search The Book Blogs Search Engine to find bloggers in your field. Study their sites, see whom they recommend, read their review policies and link with them for further networking.

Join the community

Remember: don’t hard sell but rather enter into a relationship, a conversation with many participants. Follow the discussion, offer your point of view.

Submit your book

Once you’ve established some kind of relationship, prepare to submit your own book for possible review. Bloggers will indicate in their review policies whether they prefer to receive books electronically or in print. Send a query first, giving a quick summary of your book, because you don’t just want to send people free copies if they’re not seriously interested.

Offer an interview

This gives the author a better chance to describe the book’s contents than a review, which is often unpredictable in quality or point of view.

Be patient

Don’t expect to see a spike in sales right after a review or interview appears on a blog. Just remember though: this is where people go to get information. It puts the author in front of readers who are most likely to be interested in their book.”

Cultivate those contacts

As in any form of publicity, the ongoing back and forth between authors and bloggers is crucial. Unlike traditional broadcast or print media however, you can’t call anyone on the phone. Bloggers work at home, so use email to stay in touch.

Above all be persistent


 I've just recently put this plan to work and so far so good. I've met and talked to some really nice book bloggers. They are there to help you, take advantage of if,  but don't be pushy. And if you're turned down just move on. There are many reviewers out there who are compatible with you.

Any thoughts about all this way of promoting? If your book has been reviewed by a book blogger, please tell us here in comments about the experience. Any advice for fellow writers will be much appreciated.

Spread Love Not Hate - Blog Hop - Adult Bullying and Social Network Cliques.

Today we are spreading the word about Love not Hate here on our blogs. A few weeks ago I posted here on my blog about Social Network Cliques and some ideas on how to deal with those kinds of people online. I'm repeating the URL of it today in honor of Spread Love Not Hate Day. The post is called Social Network Cliques and the URL is as follows :

http://khloekamalis.blogspot.com/2012/01/social-network-cliques.html

The second post touches on Cyber Bullying not only among teens but adults. It's called Adult Bullying and Cyber Bullying. The URL is as follows:

http://khloekamalis.blogspot.com/2011/12/adult-bullying-and-cyber-bullying.html

I hope these posts help. Remember if you are the victim of either one of these issues don't ignore it. Don't be afraid. Put a stop to it - report the bullies - report those who try to intimidate you. I've been a victim of both and I know from personal experience it's not a fun thing to go through. Just before posting this I read on Facebook how one woman got angry with her partner and deleted their whole website because the partner had more business then she did. The business? A Blog Tour business. There was no need for that. If you have a temper, go somewhere and cool off. There's no need to harass and harm others.

Below are other bloggers who have joined K.C. Neal and the bloggers of this blog hop today. Check out their blogs also to see what they have to say about spreading Love Not Hate. Haters are not always our motivators people, haters have caused many a misfortune in others lives, even suicide. Think twice before you bite.

Remember Spread <3 Not Hate!

Much Love and have a wonderful day. Thank you for reading. xoxo

 

Social Network Cliques

The jocks. The nerds. The popular girls. Everyone who has ever attended school knows about cliques—social groups that are so often a source of angst and conflict in the lives of children and adolescents. But guess what. When all is said and done, and high school is over, we all still have to deal with cliques. Personally, I think it's ridiculous. I'm in a few closed groups in social networks online, and it's interesting to me to see how different they can be from one another. I'm in them because I choose to be, and I am online friends with many in the groups. But, a couple of the groups are very clique like. Recently two members of a group emailed me regarding certain aspects of those groups, and how hurt they were, or how bothered they were by things being said or leaked to them. My advice was to either leave the group or don't interact with the group because they feel pressured to but to merely interact when they feel they have something to say. Then I started researchig cliques, because like them, I've had different experiences also. Thus, I decided to post this blog about cliques. I hope it helps some of you to understand more about our reactions and interactions with others in the social network groups we mingle with on the internet and how we may appear to others.

A clique is tight knit group that often revolves around people who participate in similar activities. Instead of creating lasting friendships, sometimes people involved in cliques seem to only care about themselves and the things they are interested in. They may also exclude people outside of their group. Members of a clique may be more concerned about their social standing within the group rather than making other friends. This happens a lot in the social networks of the internet such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Goodreads, etc.

If you've ever had to deal with social network cliques, you already know that it can be mildly annoying to really frustrating, and sometimes very hurtful. Learning ways to cope with cliques will help you realize that you don't need approval from a group to feel good about yourself.

Adults may see a clique as a way to make friends and become popular. For someone who may not be very outgoing on their own in real life situations, social network online cliques may help make it easier to socialize. Social netowrk cliques may be tightly controlled by a leader (or a few leaders) and their close allies just like the school cliques were. Those in control typically have the ability to decide who is cool and who's not, and what behavior is acceptable and what is not. This can feel uncomfortable for those who are left out yet know about the secret group.

Many social network cliques are usually closed to people outside of the group. Clubs are different because they are open to people who share common interests. In cliques there is often a lot of pressure to act the same as the other members. In clubs, people tend to share ideas, and respect the opinions of others. Been there, done that. And I ususally feel left out because I know if I reveal my true opinion I will get either the silent treatment or talked about behind my back.

Speaking of talking behind someone's back. Know also that in every clique there is a so called 'big mouth'. That's the one who, when you open your email, message box or your private messages or direct messages tells you what has been said about you, or what the group said in another secret clique group that is secret to you. How lame is that? Personally I don't care to know, but then people can't seem to keep their mouths closed (or in the case of the social networks, their fingers off the keyboard to spread gossip in hopes to make themselves look appealing.) Group dynamics can lead to what is known in psychology as a "risky shift."

It may feel good to be approached by someone who is in a private social network group. You're not alone most people want to feel accepted, particularly in new social situations, but don't fall for what appears to be a quick way to go from being unnoticed to being cool and popular. Realize that you are interesting and unique just as you are.

Know who you are and don't let others change you - Think about your values and what you believe in, and look for friends you can relate to based on similar interests. NEVER feel pressured to be someone else or act a certain way to get the approval of your peers. The excitement of feeling liked by members of a clique will wear off quickly if you find out that they want you to do things or act in a certain way that's just not you.

Respect yourself - It may sound corny, but we all need to "like" ourselves and feel comfortable in our own skin. Most people get a yucky feeling when they feel pressured into behaving in a way that they normally wouldn't act.

Give yourself a chance to meet different kinds of people - Having diverse friendships and interests makes life much more interesting. By joining an online clique, you might limit yourself to the beliefs and activities of only one group. Learning about different people, their cultures, ethnicity, values, and beliefs is also a way of figuring out what you value. In other words, you shouldn't be influenced or limited by just one group of people, as is often the case with cliques.

Have your own opinion - It's fine to agree with others and share the same opinions, but if you feel strongly about something hold your ground even if it goes against the beliefs of the group, especially when it comes to bashing. One can have an opinion of someone or their abilities without bashing another person. Also, if a friend has a different opinion about something such as the type of music he/she likes or something else they think is cool, respect their opinion too.

Don't be afraid to speak up - You may find out that your social network group of friends has changed into a "clique". Don't be afraid to speak up if you notice that your social network friends are mean to others outside of your group, or if they exclude them from social events. If this happens, you may decide to make new friends or just limit your time with the group..

Last of all, If you realize that you are feeling controlled by other people (in your social network clique(s)), then it's probably time to move on. Find another group or just participate more in open groups. More often than not, you can get out of a social network clique just by spending less and less time with the group when you're online. Sometimes though, it may take courage to stand up for what you believe in, and tell people you don't like what they're saying, and you don't want to hang out with them anymore. The bottom-line is you should only spend time with people that genuinely care about you and allow you to be your own person.

I hope this information helped with regard to social network cliques. Good luck to everyone and remember have fun while you're online and there's no need to feel pressured. We get enough pressure from our real life situations sometimes. We certainly don't need it online.