TIP: I Spy: How to find the places for your tour

Like most things in life, there's the official list, then there's the real list. In working with poets -- whose ability to find a port to read their work in any storm is unparalleled-- Mr. Obie Joe says an author can do a lot to scope out places for their next appearance.

Try these steps to success:
• Once you decided upon the city, get the zip code(s) for a range of neighborhoods.
• Go to Booktour.com, type in the zip code, and see a wide range of venues for authors, including the local V.F.W. Hall (really).
• For finding those more traditional book-oriented venues, check out the Events sections of the city's newspapers. Ms. Obie Joe is a big fan of the listings in the alternative newspapers, both for breadth and address details. Good search terms include: Literary Events; Spoken Word; Book Festivals; Readings; and Politics/History.
• Definitely stop the by the MeetUp for the zip code you're scoping, 1) to find a standard book club, or 2) to find one centered on a subject matter matching your book. We've found authors who've gotten dozens of sales in niches like cooking, military history, and politics.
• Stop by that city's Main Library web site, and see what type of events they like. Do note, though, that libraries often require the longest lead time for a booking; a year is not unheard of.
• If your book has a subject matter that matches with a retail store -- cooking, fashion, toys, anime, alternative healing -- make sure to call the stores and see if they'd be interested in a presentation for their customers. Anime stores are famous for welcoming these kind of events.

TIP: Own your list

As a scalpel is to a surgeon, a media list is to a publicist. Often the strength of a list can supersede a publicist's overburdened schedule or lack of creativity. Many publicists who move on from stints with a publisher have a distinct advantage because they take with them lists of journalists carefully cultivated by many within a publishing house.

There are those lists, and authors are wise to consider this when interviewing publicists. But. You might want to consider those publicists who customize a media list for your project. For a parenting book centered on the younger mother, Mr. Obie Joe compiled a media list that started with parenting magazines, and then delved into regional parenting magazines, and then went to online communities/magazines.

Another tip: when negotiating the contract, ask for a copy of the media list used for your project. Not all publicists will share the list with you, but at the least, most will give those aspects of the list most relevant to your project. From there, take that list and make sure you keep in touch with those on the list, via e-mail regular mailings, or personalized pitches.

TIP: Write your Discussion Guide

Often, and especially if the story is very good, at the end of a book, Ms. Obie Joe has lots of questions about the plot and characters of a book. Absent a book club meeting, or even better, a direct line of questions for the author, the only way for a reader to find answers may be a discussion guide. Also known as a reading guide, or book club guide, these guides illuminate many aspects of the story.

The level of detail can vary:
• Questions designed to spark group conversation only, usually no more than 15-20. Wendell Berry and Andre Dubus are spectral experts at the construction of these type of Qs.
• Paragraphs of explanation, followed by questions. Mary Doria Russell, with her intriguing brand of fiction, spirituality exercises and outright science fiction, has beautiful discussion Q&As at the conclusion of many of her books.
• Character sketches and questions.

Many authors have their Discussion Guides written for them. But if you're an author with the opportunity to write your own, please do so. If it's not to be included in your book, post it on your web site, include it in your press kit, and send it out as a great enticement for a presentation before a book group or school.

It's just another way to draw in your audience. And keep them for your next book.

TIP: Kill or Keep: what to do with a negative review on your Amazon page

Beyond the staving the staying sting of a one-star nasty-word, heartless review deposited on your Amazon page, what strategy should an author adopt about these reviews?

Some authors petition Amazon for removal for all sorts of reasons (none, of course related to the personal heartbreak). The author could point that the reviewer used inappropriate language (misspellings, defamatory, profane). Or, that the review gave away too much of the plot (to which Mr. Obie Joe says, have you SEEN the way Amazon usually summarizes the plot?). There's even the Reboot method, where an author deletes his page entirely, and starts fresh.

Mr. Obie Joe cautions authors to not worry the reviews. Instead, enjoy the attention, and that it will spur you on to encourage colleagues and friends to post their own more interesting and positive reviews.

Unless, of course, the review mentions yo'mamma.

TIP: Check out this blog

Savvy book fans know that when it comes to book promotion and production, Mr. Obie Joe's motto is "Find Your Audience."

Part of that search for actual audience members is sussing out what your audience likes. Part of this sleuthing is simple: if you have a YA novel, your book trailer had better find its home on mySpace, your FaceBook page and of course, YouTube with killer search terms attached to it. If you're published a travelogue for the recently retired, for Lawd's sake, make sure you blog continues with frequent posts from life on the road.

Check out this author blog/site by new author, DeAnna Cameron (The Bell Dancer, Berkeley Books): www.deannacameron.com. Ms. Obie Joe discovered Ms. Cameron on M.J. Rose's blog (also a must read, daily, at www.mjroseblog.typepad.com/buzz_balls_hype), and loved her advice about finding which method works for you as author, and for your audience, and then sticking to it.

DeAnna starts off each interview of an author, with the line, "How'd You Find Your Audience?"

Indeed.

TIP: What's your widget?

Adding a widget to your site is an essential. Even though most of the widgets you see are ones standard to most blogs and sites, an author should consider constructing a personalized widget. A personalized widget can tout a football team, your kid's nickname; others can emphasize function, for example, tracking how fast you can type. Do a few web searches to find a widget already made, or how to make your own, and start the process.

Mr. Obie Joe's widget preference? The Saints' 2008-09 schedule, of course, and Ms. Obie Joe would be inclined to agree.

TIP: Call your library

One of the best ways to juice your Amazon ranking (beyond writing a good book?) is to solicit your friends, family, work colleagues, and perhaps neighbors to place an order the first week of a book's release. Or, soon after a huge media appearance.

Don't forget to solicit friends and families for placing orders that won't cost them a dime. When a library orders a book, they tend to order many copies. For a recent title in poetry promoted by Obie Joe, we hit the jackpot with each library order, usually averaging 20+ books.

Ask your friends and family to call their local library to place a hold on the book. If told the book is not in stock, ask to have the book ordered. It may take a few calls before the library orders the books, but eventually a library will.

TIP: Put ya domains on auto renewal

If you own the domain name of your web site (this advice does not apply to blogs), make sure to put the annual renewal on automatic. Whether it's godaddy.com, register.com or whomever, the company should offer an auto-renewal function. Take it. Not all domain hosts will notify you of an expiration date.

Many of us in book promotion have stories of authors whose domain name lapsed. And either they did not get an expiration notice, or they did not remember to renew, but the sad day came when they learned someone else now had their domain name, either by auction or smart picking up.

TIP for the day: stop by and say hi

One of our large goals for this log was to post more tips on book promotion.

Here's a tip for Mr. Obie Joe: stop being so slovenly on the posts.

A tip for everyone else:
Optimally, your site's blogroll contains links to your favorite sites. Treat these sites like your favs, and give them a little bit of love every now and then. Meaning, make sure to visit these sites and leave a comment. If you more time, take a bit of something you learned from this site, and post a snippet on your site.

The advantages? Your friends will feel loved, and with some active blogs, your post will boost your Google position.

Why bother?

The author and the publisher is king(s), respectively, so their word is go when it comes to book promotion.

That said, like any other service provider, Mr. Obie Joe finds the situation a bit vexing when an author or publisher takes a direction not of sense to the goal of finding an audience for a book.

A lot has been hyped about online promotion. Get a MySpace page. Throw thousands of dollars for a web site. Do a blog tour. Put on podcasts. The focus is always on the wrong thing: a successful book promotion is less about the tools, and more about the actual CONTENT. Sorry to shout, but Mr. Obie Joe must remind authors and publishers to choose their online tools carefully. Few of us are as charismatic as Chip Kidd (sigh), or as funny and prolific as Haven Kimmel in their book trailers, websites, blogs and podcasts.

Make the commitment stick when you choose your tool for online promotion. Don't scramble all over. Pick one or two tools, and show up regularly. The bookmarks Mr. and Ms. Obie Joe bookmark are ones with regular posts; that's all, and that's enough.