Book reviews your own mother would love

So just how discriminating, skilled or objective are the blogger book reviews you can get from newly launched booksneeze? Judging by the Browse Reviews section, fandom seems to inspire most of the book reviews. Categories in children's books; entertainment; conservative politics and Christianity have the most reviews. Many of the books are from small publishers; The Faith of Barack Obama by Stephen Mansfield is the only title we recognized as major.

That said, the number of reviews is impressive: most books garner on average 50+ reviews. Even more killer is the SEO booksneeze does for your title. On searching for The Chronological Study Bible, the first five google results were reviews by bloggers coordinated by booksneeze. It didn't replace amazon.com, but it gave another layer of conversion possibility for a new reader. Plus, there seems to be informal cross-posting with Amazon.com and other sites; each review gets around.

TIP: Make your own audio book

Not every book get to be an audiobook, but every book gets ito be heard. Check with your publisher on their policy on excerpts, and if their definition of "fair use" is generous, get out the iPod. Make an excerpt of your book as an audio feature on your site; a podcast on another site; or a download via iTunes. If you're comfortable with your voice, go do that, but if not, look for a volunteer via your local college drama departments. Why do the audio and not just the book trailer? Because an audio recording is stickier in the task of familiarizing a new reader to your work. (And definitely check out LibriVox for free recording software, hundreds of free downloads of books in the public domain.)

Ready for the Fall.

Obie Joe Media is ready for new business. Just in time for the August slow, and the Fall feast.

Give us a call. Let's catch up. Truly, Obie Joe Media is eager to hear what's new with your book. 

On hiatus

The Obie Joe particles and people are booked full, and won't be able to take on other projects until the Summer. We hope to see everyone later this year.

Picking on the cover

A good cover can convey the content inside, whatever the story. 

But the best covers entice, making the task to crack the spine to see inside an irresistible impulse. 

Much will be continue to be said about Publisher Weekly's cover. (Loved that the arresting photograph by Lauren Kelly came from the new book, Posing Beauty by Deborah Willis). That the cover's connotation detracted from the necessary conversation inside, etc. 

Perhaps. It's been too long of a day since an interesting cover on the issues faced by Black writers and the marketplace came along -- especially for PW -- and if anything, the cover made readers look inside (read the excellent essay by fellow Baltimorean Felicia Pride). It would be different if Mr. Obie Joe suspected cynicism in the cover choice, but PW is often not that creative. Rather, the choice of this photo for this dedicated issue was representative of the sometimes clueless nature with which the traditional parts of the publishing industry approach the voices in the Black community. 

And, c'mon, the amount of puns inspired is too irresistible. 

TIP: Letting readers be the editors on your book's outline

Mr. Obie Joe is of the opinion that the greater involvement a reader has in the author, the book's subject, or the book's hype, the better the chance an author wins the lottery: the reader buys the book, tells friends & family, and goes to the event.

What if your reader could collaborate with your book? As in, say somethin' about the way you put your book together? A new site, a book outline Wiki, posts a book's outline, and then allows registered users to give their notes on your genius. (also good for books still under development.)

Ms. Obie Joe is liking the Act One by Moss Hart book.

Sales, accolades, sales again

Recognition, gathered via awards from officious places, or premature death, always bring sales of your book.

Many authors spend their entire careers unjustly unappreciated by awards and/or sales. Trust that you are not alone, and that every sale is worth something. Mr. Obie Joe was intrigued to read of the book sales for the five nominees for the prestigious National Book Award:

(winner) LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN, by Colum McCann 17,200 copies
LARK AND TERMITE, by Jayne Anne Phillips 15,250 copies
IN OTHER ROOMS, OTHER WONDERS, by Daniyal Mueenuddin 8,750 copies
FAR NORTH, by Marcel Theroux 1,275 copies
AMERICAN SALVAGE, by Bonnie Jo Campbell 1,100 copies

Sidenote: A hearty congrats to McCann, a fav around Obie Joe Media for his book, Zoli, about the Romany, and the struggle to be left alone by the dominant culture. Best line: "I still call myself black, even though I have rolled around in flour."
(Photograph: Tina Fineberg/AP)

TIP: Fancify your online invites

Sure, fancify is only a word the littlest Obie Joe could conjure, but the intent for online invites is the same. How best to match the online invitation to your event? There are a fair amount of these services, and nearly offer the same points:
• Ease of design. Some offer more options in clip art. Most offer templates for any occasion; Constant Contact is known for their range.
• Tracking. Evite pings you by cell phone; all services notify you by e-mail as the yea/nay/maybe somedays roll in, as well as tell you how many opened the invite at all.
• Cost. Only Evite is free, and scrolling through the ads can annoy. Constant Contact does offer e-mail management; those authors with multiple e-mail lists arranged by niche audiences can find this service a life-saver.

We're also been intrigued by a new player, paperlesspost. Still in beta, and not offered for free (yet), there are aspects of using an online invite system that looks more at home with a wedding planner. When we received an paperlesspost invite from Love Is a Mountain author Mozella Perry Ademiluyi for appearances in London, we paid more attention because the look, and suspense of "opening" the invite gave a larger sense of exclusivity to it.

When designing your next evite, try for a personal, formal look. It might not work for an event in an institutional setting (library, bookstore), but for a more intimate setting (book club), where you want to guarantee close to 100% confirmation, something along the lines from paperlesspress might work.

Perhaps an author tour is worth the time...

Not a fan of Wal-Mart, and probably should know more about Mr. King, and yet this event located just miles from the Obie Joe Media home inspires much love for all involved. Hundreds of fans showed up to meet the man, many of whom camped out the night before.

Get out there and tour! Surprise yourself with the possibility of fans. Maybe not King-size, but surely well enough for building to the same.

(image courtesy of The Baltimore Sun)

Just like the Alien vs. Predator fight, we don't know who will win in the Amazon vs. Wal-Mart fight to sell bottom-priced books. We do know the loser: those who love books. Sure, the price wars are limited to the blockbusters, so what's the damage for 95% of the other books?

Lots. Those blockbusters also shore up the independent bookstores, authors, and the publishers by subsidizing the more modest sales. That's Mr. Obie Joe's opinion. Pudd'nhead Books found a few other opinions, including the first comparsion of books to pork chops.

"It's a totally different market. If Wal-Mart started selling pork chops for $1.79 a pound, they're not going to put Whole Foods out of business. There is plenty of room for everyone."
Barbara Meade, co-founder of Politics and Prose, Wash., DC

"I'm tickled pink (that Wal-Mart and Amazon.com are fighting), and I'm hoping that they lose a lot of money."
Jane Kessler, owner of Appletree Books, Cleveland Heights, OH

"Bestsellers are not the strength of independent bookstores," Klein said. "We don't live and die by the bestsellers. . . . What goes on between Amazon and Wal-Mart affects them more than it affects us."
Richard Klein, co-owner of Book Revue, Huntington, NY

"It's the chain bookstores and the readers that are going to be hurt by this the most. Chain bookstores can't do what what independents can do, not can they pay their bills by selling toothpaste and electronics. Readers will suffer the most, however. If the general public learns to expect cheap books, publishers won't be able to afford to take a chance on new writers, so quality, story, research and expertise will slowly disappear from new books, and we'll only have those most commercial and bland books to choose from. Again, you get what you pay for."
Nikki Furrer of Pudd'nhead Books, Webster Groves, MO