Sandra Rea's Blog (11)

Ever feel like a nobody because you're not on the New York Times Best Seller quite yet and your print runs are below 30,000? Take a deep breath. I have an announcement that just might surprise you. You may not be "famous," but in your readers' eyes YOU ARE A CELEBRITY! Stop belly aching that "you haven't made it big." Do you know how many people in the world would give their two front teeth to have readers who want to know about them? Do you know how wonderful it is that you wrote a book... th… Continue

With all the recent media attention on the pending Healthcare Bill and whether our elected representatives are actually "reading the bill" before signing it into law, I thought I'd take a moment to emphasize the importance of reading (and understanding) all the paperwork we as authors must contend with in our daily lives. As you know, earning a living in today's publishing arena is vastly different and greatly more complicated than the world our predecessors faced just 20 short years ago. Today… Continue

Luck Be Our Lady! How much does luck contribute to an author's success? When I think about luck and writing, one of the first word sets that comes to mind is Harry Potter. That is far more than a story of success for a down-and-out writer who was on social services sitting in a coffee shop every day with her infant at her feet writing her book. An ex-school teacher who was writing for no one but herself. That is truly a story of phenomenal luck with a capital "L." As I've heard the story, J.K.… Continue

We live in a technology-based society. As authors, we tend to obsess about numbers that we THINK are important (i.e., Alexa rankings, website stats, Amazon rankings) to our success when in reality these numbers are only distractions. Let me explain. Most tech data points are just that. They reflect data … not people. Can you really directly translate hits and page views to readers (they could be bots)? Is there anyone out there who can directly correlate an Amazon ranking to actual number of bo… Continue

Get interviewed on top TV shows like CNN, 48 Hours, ABC's The View, Fox News and the Today Show! Sign up for my seminar now! (Respond by the end of the month to receive $250 off!) !!!!!! STOP !!!!!!! Time for a Reality Check. Do NOT fall for this tactic. If you think you are going to sign up for a seminar, plopping down hundreds of dollars to some guru who promises to get you on the shows of your dreams, so you can sell, sell, sell books, stop right now. This is not brain surgery, people. I'v… Continue

This will be brief, as I've written about this topic before. I just want you to understand very clearly that if you are spending time, effort, and money on traditional book promotion (i.e., signings, mailers, print ads, brochures and fliers), you may well be tossing your hard-earned cash out the window. The explosion and fragmentation of mainstream media outlets have made it extremely difficult to capture the reader’s attention. Just like an arms race, the arsenal of traditional book promotiona… Continue

Now that the boys of summer are back in play, perhaps we can all gain a few simple insights from America's favorite pastime when thinking about how to generate book sales. Sure, we'd all like to hit the ball out of the park when our book hits the streets, but rather than spend your promotional dollars on "home runs" you'll get more value for your money if you strive for base hits and make your way around the diamond to home plate (book sales). Here's the formula: First base -- Build a core au… Continue

Really? So a best-selling author says he or she can teach you the secrets of his or her success? For how much money? And how can he or she assure that your book(s) will be as successful as HE or SHE SAYS their books are? Please note, I'm not talking about industry association conferences. Sponsored (and endorsed) writers conferences provide a tremendous value for the dollars (i.e., compelling topics, workshops, networking, keynote speakers, etc.) spent to attend. What I'm talking about is the… Continue

This one will be short. I have a question for you, Author. You are actively involved in promotions for your book, but are you promoting yourself when you really should be promoting your story? Sure readers want to know a bit about you, that's true, like in a biographical piece telling them about how you got into writing and why you continue, what your next works might be, what you're working on now. But what they really want to know is whether your story is the type of book they could sit with… Continue

Sure it sounds easy. Create a little banner or text ad for your book and drop it into a PPC (pay per click) internet marketing engine (i.e., Google AdWords) and sit back and count your royalties! Before you whip out your credit card, consider the following story: Once upon a time, there was a tiny house who told an author that she could sell her books online for as little as $50! "Your ad will be seen around the world by thousands if not millions of people," the little house said. "How is tha… Continue

I'm writing to you on behalf of New York Times best-selling author Brenda Novak to invite you to support her annual fundraiser for Juvenile Diabetes Research and learn how you might become involved in this worthwhile cause. The 5th Annual Online Auction for Diabetes Research will open May 1st and run through the month. We're currently inviting authors, readers and anyone that can help this year’s auction the biggest and the best ever. Last year, we raised $252,300. We hope to break $300,000 in 2… Continue