Tag Archives: tellwell book marketing

Meet the Team

Book-marketing consultant extraordinaire Ben Graham shares the work that has made him most proud

Our book-marketing team is made up of skilled professionals who are passionate about helping authors showcase their projects through a variety of personalized services, ranging from bespoke marketing strategies and attention-grabbing press releases to engaging social media content and graphic-design assistance. We chatted with Ben Graham to learn more about how he serves his authors and what he enjoys most about the work he produces.

What inspired you to join the Tellwell team as a book marketer?

It seemed like a great fit. I had been working with indie artists and authors and wanted to do more of that! The timing was incredible, as I had just returned to Canada and finished up a contract that required similar competencies.

What do you enjoy the most about your work with Tellwell?

I enjoy the variety of activities I get to be involved in. It’s rewarding working with such a great group of people and collaborating on projects for the blog and newsletter, certain marketing activities that require a team effort, and one-on-one work with our talented authors. Because we work with so many unique authors, no duties are ever quite the same—it’s always new.

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Book Marketing Tips & Tricks

TIPS & TRICKS FOR SUBMITTING TO BOOK AWARDS IN 5 EASY STEPS

And the winner is . . .

Every author dreams of receiving recognition and praise for their book, and with award season just around the corner, you may be thinking, How can I submit my book to awards? Well, we’ve broken it down into 5 easy steps!

Step 1: Determine which awards your book is eligible for

This seems pretty straight forward . . . most awards have categories for all genres to enter, but in some cases awards will focus on a specific genre. This is particularly seen with children’s books. That isn’t the only restrictive factor; you will also need to be sure you are looking at awards that are open to self-published authors. Fear not—there are many! In some cases you may also find national awards that focus on the author’s country of residence. Be sure to always read the terms of eligibility for the award you are submitting to.

Taking all these factors into account, here is a great resource for finding self-published book awards www.writersunion.ca/self-published-book-awards

QUICK TIP: Not all awards come with a monetary prize. Whether you’re looking for fame and fortune or simply some recognition, keep this in mind when considering which awards you submit to.

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Author Success - In the media, awards, reviews

Celebrating Tellwell authors in the media, award-winners, bestsellers, and more!

Tellwell-Author-Celebrations

From book launches to rave reviews to bestsellers, Tellwell authors have done it again! We’re always thrilled to celebrate author success!

Author of Immigration, Race and Survival Cecily Alexander was featured in The Caribbean Camera!

This memoir is a collection of many journals she has kept over the years. She uses journalling as a way of working through feelings and emotions and of learning from her experiences. She has had a career as a dietitian for over forty years. Her career has included academic writing, and she has one previous book publication: a book on nutrition and weight loss called “Just Eat Less: Easier said than done.” She has a master’s in business administration specializing in organizational behaviour in addition to her nutrition degree from the University of Guelph. She has taught at both the university and college levels. She lives in Southern Ontario.

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Meet the Team

Why marketing your book is just as important as writing it – advice from Tellwell’s marketing consultant Colleen Hay

At the end of the day, book marketing is really all about connecting with people and enjoying the process.

Colleen Hay, Tellwell Book Marketing Consultant

What does a typical week look like for you as a marketing consultant?

A typical work week as a book marketing consultant is never very typical! What I love most about the role is how varied it is day-to-day. Some days, I’m busy consulting with authors on various marketing activities they can do to help promote their books, and other days I’m designing websites, promotional materials, and social media campaigns to help get them started on their marketing journey. 

What do you enjoy most about working with authors? 

I am inspired daily by each author I work with. I’m amazed by their bravery in making that first move to get their words and thoughts down on paper. It’s such a pleasure to be able to meet authors of all ages, every walk of life, and from so many different countries! I love to hear why they wrote their book and to watch their level of enthusiasm surge once they’ve received some guidance on when and where to start marketing their book.

What do you tell authors who aren’t interested in marketing their book?

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Book Marketing

How Tellwell authors are marketing their book during covid

Stargazer

By David Scott

1. Describe your book in one sentence.

My story is an honest account of having lived every moment to the fullest and never letting negatives stop my drive to be happy.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

2. How were you planning to promote and market your book before the COVID crisis?⠀

In much the same way, except I had presentations arranged at book stores, libraries, historical societies, and organizations like Apex and Rotary. 

Maintaining contact with all the sources that were postponed (not cancelled), making sure they retain all the posters and flyers for when I return immediately after the virus is contained.⠀⠀⠀

3. What are you doing now?

My greatest wish is that I die writing, as a day without having written something creative is time wasted. I am currently writing a fantasy trilogy set 69 million years ago. At the same time I am writing an article, a novela, about my road-trip south and my Paul Revere-like race home to avoid the Queensland border shut down because of the virus. 

That journey started at 8.30 p.m. at the Victorian border, a 2,000 kilometre journey through the night, dodging kangaroos and wallabies. Only when the greyness of trees edging the road became like canyon walls in my mind did I realize fatigue was setting in. I pulled over for a nap, Raven curled up in the passenger seat and me in a slightly reclined driver’s seat: the car was too packed to sleep in the back. It ended up being only a 20 minute sleep as my dog had a dream and kicked me in the backside as she slept. It was enough, however, to revive me for the rest of the journey. I would not recommend it to anyone else to try. Upon reaching the Queensland border town of Goodniwindi at 9.30 a.m., I sighed with relief, even though I still had over four hours driving ahead of me to arrive home.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

4. Do you have any advice for authors or is there anything else on your mind?

My advice to authors is not to be complacent. Writing is what they may be used to but, like all things in the world, you have to get out there and sell. Use every contact and source available, often one leads to another. Almost 40 years in the film industry, with the big companies like Village as my opposition, taught me to be clever with promotions – it was the only way to survive against the national theatre chains.

As for the road-trip, I’ll do it again, just as soon as the blasted virus is kicked to the curb. And my faithful dobermann will be by my side.

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Tips & Tricks

Want to kickstart your next novel? Here’s how to launch a successful book crowdfunding campaign

You’ve already got one book under your belt. Now’s the time to work on the next. But how can you afford to do this? The answer for hundreds of authors is Kickstarter, the popular crow-funding website. By executing a successful Kickstarter campaign, you could be paid to work on your book while you’re writing it. True story. Here’s a few tips to get your started:

Do your research. Check out book campaigns that worked. Ask yourself – why were they effective? What language did they use to encourage support? Who provided the funding and why, do you think, they did so? Check out this Kickstarter success story for inspiration.

Do the math and set your goal. I’m sure most of us would like a cheeky million to sit on the beach in Mexico and pen our crime thriller but that ain’t gonna happen. Figure out how much it costs to make a book, and be reasonable and realistic. If it’s a good project, people will contribute. Make sure you factor in the ‘boring’ costs like printing and postage. Remember to add a 15% buffer to cover the Kickstarter, credit card fees and extra fees to run your campaign. Also include a budget for marketing. Enough to either outsource it or to make your own website and promotional materials. At the very least, you should budget for a consultation with a marketing professional who will identify the strategies most relevant to your book that you can implement yourself.

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Tips & Tricks

How to use book clubs to market your book

How to use book clubs to market your book

Book clubs are a wonderful way for authors to connect directly with readers to build a loyal fan base, ask for input and feedback to use for your next novel, raise awareness for your book and generate more reviews.

1.Finding Book Clubs

First you want to create a list of book clubs. Start with your inner circle of family, friends and acquaintances to see if they are part of a book club which reads books in your genre.

Visit local libraries, bookstores, coffee shops and ask the manager if there are local book clubs taking place and if you can have the contact info of the organizer.

Find them online by try searching Meetup.com, Mybookclub.com, Facebook, Goodreads even Instagram for online book clubs.

marketing your book at book clubs

2. Make Your Pitch

Many clubs love to speak with authors, especially local authors. Contact the organizer, introduce yourself, provide your book backgrounder and explain you are interested in participating as a visiting author. If you don’t hear back, you’ll want to follow up.

 

3. Event Day

At the book club, know what you want to discuss. Ask the organizer what format they want to follow, usually, it will involve discussion points and a Q&A. It is also a good opportunity for you to receive direct feedback from your readers. What they liked and didn’t like.

Bring promotional materials such as bookmarks, offer to sign books, and ask if anyone would consider leaving a review on Amazon and or Goodreads.

Take photos at the event to post on social media.

 

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Author Success - In the media, awards, reviews

Tellwell authors in the news

Congratulations to our Tellwell authors on their recent media coverage!

Luciano Nisi
Untold Stories of a Paramedic 

luciano-nisi-paramedic

The Abbotsford News
Abbotsford author Luciano Nisi has released his third book, which shares his experiences as a paramedic. Untold Stories of a Paramedic takes the reader right into the action of real calls.

“You will witness the heart-pounding, adrenaline-pumping action of dealing with a stabbing, shooting or overdose,” Nisi says.

He said the book also shows the humorous side of the job, and he shares everything from the dialogue with his partner to his own thoughts.

Katrina LaPointe
Awakening Arorus

awakening-arorus

Vernon Morning Star

A Village of Lumby author is making strides in the fantasy world.

Katrina (K.M.) Lapointe’s Awakening Arorus, the first in the series The Clan Destayy Chronicles, marks the stay-at-home mother and Charles Bloom Secondary grad’s debut on the scene.

Awakening Arorus, in the beginning, was because of my love of reading. I mean, I get into a book and it’s a relaxing escape from the every day,” Lapointe said. “I remember ever since I was learning to read I loved stories and when I got into my teens I’ve always known that I wanted to write an adventure that hopefully one day, I could share with the world.”

Gordon Coyle
Open Road to My Soul

Gordon Coyle

Prince George Citizen

Gordon Coyle rides an iron horse, pulls the trigger of his lens and shutter, and like every lonesome cowboy he also has some sad songs.

Coyle is a photographer, and he rolls proudly from scene to scene on his Harley. The camera is one medium for his creative heart but he also puts pen to paper and arranges his impressions into structured words. He perhaps hesitated to call himself a poet, but now it’s irrefutable. He has the book to prove it.

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