Search Results - CrimeSpace2024-03-28T22:35:11Zhttp://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topic/search?q=AuthorBuzz&feed=yes&xn_auth=noBook Marketingtag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-09-11:537324:Comment:2132532009-09-11T01:04:56.657ZDaniel Hatadihttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/danielhatadi
You can always search the forums for <a href="http://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topic/search?q=AuthorBuzz" target="_blank">AuthorBuzz</a>. :)
You can always search the forums for <a href="http://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topic/search?q=AuthorBuzz" target="_blank">AuthorBuzz</a>. :) Book Marketingtag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-09-12:537324:Comment:2133362009-09-12T04:30:47.062ZKaren Dionnehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/KarenDionne
Dan -<br />
<br />
MJ's built a network of contacts, and she rents those contacts to authors who contract for the service. It's not rocket science, and it's not deceptive either.<br />
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Yes, there are plenty of scammers looking to "draw in the client who is needy, hopeful, and trustful." MJ isn't one of them. Did you look at her <a href="http://www.authorbuzz.com/dearreader/Larchive.shtml" target="_blank">list of clients</a>? David Morrell, Allison Brennan, Kyle Mills, C.J. Box, Eric Van Lustbader, Heather…
Dan -<br />
<br />
MJ's built a network of contacts, and she rents those contacts to authors who contract for the service. It's not rocket science, and it's not deceptive either.<br />
<br />
Yes, there are plenty of scammers looking to "draw in the client who is needy, hopeful, and trustful." MJ isn't one of them. Did you look at her <a href="http://www.authorbuzz.com/dearreader/Larchive.shtml" target="_blank">list of clients</a>? David Morrell, Allison Brennan, Kyle Mills, C.J. Box, Eric Van Lustbader, Heather Graham, Stephen J. Cannell, Jon Land, Carla Neggers, Linda Fairstein, Wendy Corsi Staub, Debbie MacComber, John Lescroart, Lee Child - all New York Times bestselling authors - all authors who've used Authorbuzz - some more than once. I hardly think they fit your description.<br />
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Of course Authorbuzz isn't for every author. As I said earlier, publicity on this scale won't help sales if the product isn't readily available. Whether it's Authorbuzz, or an ad in <i>The New York Times,</i> if the reader can't walk into any bookstore and easily make the purchase, the advertising won't work because it has no where to go.<br />
<br />
MJ's service is just one way of getting the word out, that's all. A few people on this thread wanted to hear from someone who'd used Authorbuzz, so I spoke up. Didn't expect to get charged with being too naive to realize I'd been scammed, but at least I'm in good company!<br />
. Book Marketingtag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-09-10:537324:Comment:2132222009-09-10T17:47:25.192ZI. J. Parkerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
I still think that's an effort to market AuthorBuzz. The word is apparently still out if you get your money's worth there.
I still think that's an effort to market AuthorBuzz. The word is apparently still out if you get your money's worth there. M.J. Rose: Publishers Must Change the Way Authors Get Paidtag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-08-29:537324:Comment:2118762009-08-29T20:50:49.755ZPepper Smithhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Reefrunner
I've seen AuthorBuzz ads in the Shelf Awareness e-newsletter, which seems to target booksellers. It would be interesting to know if the response to the ads is worth the cost of them.
I've seen AuthorBuzz ads in the Shelf Awareness e-newsletter, which seems to target booksellers. It would be interesting to know if the response to the ads is worth the cost of them. Book Marketingtag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-09-11:537324:Comment:2133172009-09-11T19:44:04.279ZKaren Dionnehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/KarenDionne
I used MJ's AuthorBuzz basic last year when my first novel published from Berkley. The cost was $1,000, and I believe it was well worth it. For that, I got exposure to 370,000 readers, 12,000 librarians, 5,000 booksellers and more than 150 top bloggers via DearReader.com and ShelfAwareness.<br />
<br />
I wasn't given a list of bloggers to contact, by the way - all I had to do was supply a note to readers and a note to librarians, agree to give 5 copies away in a contest hosted at authorbuzz.com, and…
I used MJ's AuthorBuzz basic last year when my first novel published from Berkley. The cost was $1,000, and I believe it was well worth it. For that, I got exposure to 370,000 readers, 12,000 librarians, 5,000 booksellers and more than 150 top bloggers via DearReader.com and ShelfAwareness.<br />
<br />
I wasn't given a list of bloggers to contact, by the way - all I had to do was supply a note to readers and a note to librarians, agree to give 5 copies away in a contest hosted at authorbuzz.com, and AuthorBuzz did the rest.<br />
<br />
This was my note to readers: <a href="http://www.authorbuzz.com/dearreader/dionne.shtml">http://www.authorbuzz.com/dearreader/dionne.shtml</a><br />
<br />
The note to librarians and booksellers was similar, but was mailed to them in July (my book published in October), to give them time to order the book. This note also ran for a week in the ShelfAwareness newsletter.<br />
<br />
As for results, when both notes went live, my website got a LOT of hits. It's too long ago for me to remember the numbers, but I was definitely pleased to see so many hits directly attributable to Author Buzz. I've done a great deal of other marketing - tons of guest blogs and blog interviews and opinion pieces in the Huffington Post, but none of it generated anything close to the attention that AuthorBuzz did.<br />
<br />
The best part was that 120 people wrote in response to the contest hoping to win a free book. Of course I wrote back to thank them all - MJ sets that out as a requirement, but it really only makes sense - and because of that early connection, this group has turned out to be a strong core group of my best fans - they often write back when I send out my quarterly newsletter, and show up at signings, tell me how they recommended the book to their friends, and bought multiple copies as gifts and stuff.<br />
<br />
I've spent money on other promotions that I didn't think were worth it, but when my next novel publishes in 2010, I'm definitely going to use AuthorBuzz again.<br />
. Online promotiontag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-04-16:537324:Comment:2327402010-04-16T16:38:31.453ZJ. Sydney Joneshttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JSydneyJones
Tim,<br />
I went pretty much the same route as you with my last, REQUIEM IN VIENNA, plus I worked with AuthorBuzz on adds that looked impressive re number of impressions as well as click throughs, but did they generate sales? Unclear. I went with their straight up ads--next time I might try their AuthorBuzz Notes which go as newsletters to book clubs and libraries. At least with libraries you know you are hitting potential buyers and it is amazing how much those institutions account for the bottom…
Tim,<br />
I went pretty much the same route as you with my last, REQUIEM IN VIENNA, plus I worked with AuthorBuzz on adds that looked impressive re number of impressions as well as click throughs, but did they generate sales? Unclear. I went with their straight up ads--next time I might try their AuthorBuzz Notes which go as newsletters to book clubs and libraries. At least with libraries you know you are hitting potential buyers and it is amazing how much those institutions account for the bottom line, especially in genre fiction. I was too late to use that service--need to book well in advance to get it out near your launch date. Maybe other authors who have used it will comment.<br />
I wish I had a magic bullet answer for this one--promotion takes up way too much time for writers, though on the upside it puts you directly in touch with readers, and gives you an idea of what is working and what is not.<br />
Syd Book Marketingtag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-09-11:537324:Comment:2133242009-09-11T20:43:41.467ZKaren Dionnehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/KarenDionne
My book sold very well, but it's impossible to say how many copies were attributable to AuthorBuzz, and how many sold due to my own or my publisher's efforts. (And I don't think my publisher would appreciate me posting sales numbers on a public website!) ;)<br />
<br />
The problem with publicity is that you can never quantify the results. You can get a sense of when something works, if for instance, your Amazon numbers jump after an NPR interview, or as in the case of Authorbuzz, when the web tracker on…
My book sold very well, but it's impossible to say how many copies were attributable to AuthorBuzz, and how many sold due to my own or my publisher's efforts. (And I don't think my publisher would appreciate me posting sales numbers on a public website!) ;)<br />
<br />
The problem with publicity is that you can never quantify the results. You can get a sense of when something works, if for instance, your Amazon numbers jump after an NPR interview, or as in the case of Authorbuzz, when the web tracker on my website showed a lot of hits from those specific referring pages. But how many of those hits translated to actual sales? Who knows? Same with if someone hears about your book on the radio or reads about it on a blog and later buys it in the bookstore, you're never going to know that particular interview got results.<br />
<br />
Makes the whole 'how much to spend on publicity and where' question very difficult to answer, for sure.<br />
<br />
However, I will say this: I think without good publisher support with regard to distribution, and author should think very carefully about spending money on a publicist. It's not much good if someone hears about a book, but can't walk into a bookstore and readily purchase it.<br />
. Book Marketingtag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-09-12:537324:Comment:2133372009-09-12T04:48:31.732ZKaren Dionnehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/KarenDionne
"If authors who use the service are finding some success, it would make sense to publicize the fact and draw even more customers."<br />
<br />
Yeah, you'd think so if this was a new service, or if there was a lack of interest, but because Authorbuzz features just 4 authors per month, the number of clients is finite. You actually have to book a slot 4 - 6 months in advance of when your book releases if you want to use it.
"If authors who use the service are finding some success, it would make sense to publicize the fact and draw even more customers."<br />
<br />
Yeah, you'd think so if this was a new service, or if there was a lack of interest, but because Authorbuzz features just 4 authors per month, the number of clients is finite. You actually have to book a slot 4 - 6 months in advance of when your book releases if you want to use it. M.J. Rose: Publishers Must Change the Way Authors Get Paidtag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-08-29:537324:Comment:2118582009-08-29T17:42:33.703ZI. J. Parkerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
I have yet to see a clear sign that anything beyond awards, national advertising, preferably on TV, and reviews in major papers works. Unfortunately, we usually cannot access those avenues of publicity.<br />
<br />
As for Authorbuzz: any information on that? It costs, but does it pay off? And how many readers does it reach? Who goes anywhere to read ads? Most of us are sick of the barrage of advertising that enters our consciousness via mails, papers, TV, and phone lines.<br />
<br />
The problem is always that if…
I have yet to see a clear sign that anything beyond awards, national advertising, preferably on TV, and reviews in major papers works. Unfortunately, we usually cannot access those avenues of publicity.<br />
<br />
As for Authorbuzz: any information on that? It costs, but does it pay off? And how many readers does it reach? Who goes anywhere to read ads? Most of us are sick of the barrage of advertising that enters our consciousness via mails, papers, TV, and phone lines.<br />
<br />
The problem is always that if everyone does it, nobody gets noticed.<br />
<br />
Today I received the Penguin advertising issue of their Mysteries from Around the Globe. I got it because my books are listed. But there were also other authors, and I ended up making a list of books I wanted to read. That worked for me because I am interested in mysteries set in foreign countries. But I doubt it was sent to anyone but bookstores and the authors listed. Blog Book Tours - Do they leave time for writing or reading?tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-05-16:537324:Comment:1987152009-05-16T16:06:01.720ZKaren Dionnehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/KarenDionne
I did a TON of online promotion when my debut novel published last fall, staring with a big, blow-out online launch party, then moving on to Authorbuzz, guest blog posts, online interviews, op-eds for Huffington Post, and on and on and on . . .<br />
<br />
After 3 months, I was completely burned out - so exhausted from writing and talking about myself that I could barely bring myself to answer my email. Didn't write a word on the next project during all that time either. If you'd asked me then if it was…
I did a TON of online promotion when my debut novel published last fall, staring with a big, blow-out online launch party, then moving on to Authorbuzz, guest blog posts, online interviews, op-eds for Huffington Post, and on and on and on . . .<br />
<br />
After 3 months, I was completely burned out - so exhausted from writing and talking about myself that I could barely bring myself to answer my email. Didn't write a word on the next project during all that time either. If you'd asked me then if it was worth it, I'd have said no.<br />
<br />
But then a couple months after that, my publisher bought another novel from me, this time on spec, and a few weeks after that, I even got a royalty check.<br />
<br />
Ask me now if I think it was all worth it, and I still don't honestly know. It's impossible to say if my efforts made a difference, though my agent seems to think so.<br />
<br />
Which I guess means that when the new novel publishes in 2010, exhausting or not, I'll be doing all that online promoting again . . .