8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The, December 7, 2006
This review is from: Your Guide to Marketing Books in the Christian Marketplace (Paperback)
Are you a Christian who would like to reach Christian readers without playing the publisher game? Join the Christian Self-Publishing boom! Sarah Bolme has written a wonderful resource for you:
[...]
I've spent over a decade getting turned away by the publisher clique, but simply want to share a message with Christian homeschool families. I'd been daunted by the prospect of climbing "Mount Homebiz." There's so much to learn about so many different things, and book production and marketing are two very different animals. But having shot all my brain cells with the sturm and drang of learning desktop publishing, I'm happy to see that Sarah has already done all the heavy lifting for the marketing end of the deal.
This book should be on the shelf of everyone already in the biz or those who want to be. Newbies like me will find a treasure trove of valuable new information. Established publishers will find it to be a handy, well-organized resource of useful information and contacts, rather a "Yellow Pages" of Christian self-publishing.
Sarah's book is generally for any Christian self-publisher, not just homeschoolers. Among other things, the book includes exhaustive listings of every possible trade association, vendor, distributor, magazine, newsletter and anything or anyone else you may or may not want to contact, now or in the future. The book includes three main sections:
I. Launching Your Books;
II. Selling Your Books; and
III. Special Markets.
Section I on "Launching" includes a chapter on trade associations (including Sarah's Christian Small Publisher's Association (CSPA))and various Christian writers groups, e-lists, newsletters and industry publications. There's also services provided and reasons why belonging to these groups can be helpful.
Chapter 2 is on distributors, including all the ins and outs of making your book available through Christian and secular distribution channels. Chapter 3 is about ways to announce your book, including databases and industry magazines. A lot of this info is about the "big boys" of Christian publishing, but it's useful for your own education as you learn the ropes.
Sarah gives quite a lot of tips and contacts for garnering book reviews, including with libraries. There's also info on getting your book considered for book awards.
If you're a "do-it-yourselfer" like me, who'd rather re-invent the wheel than read someone's book, keep in mind that there is a ton of stuff throughout MARKETING that would have never crossed my mind in a million years had I not read this book.
Section II on "Selling Your Books" includes info on reaching the retail stores, and also trade shows, journals and catalogs read by people in the retail business. I've come to find out that we're not just marketing to potential readers, but also the "gatekeepers" who might make our books available to more readers than we can ever reach with our dinky little e-stores.
Sarah names names and does more than just "round up the usual suspects" of Christian self-publishing and the publishing industry. Of course, all that info is also included.
There's a chapter about contacting churches and church library associations. There's info on pastor's conferences and Bible schools. The next chapter is about reaching Christian consumers, including magazines, newspapers, press associations that serve the same, Christian radio and television, mail-order catalogs, various Christian organizations and school associations -- blah blah blah, page after page.
On and on the listings go, peppered with Sarah's tips and helpful suggestions... book fairs, Christian camps, how to arrange book signings and speaker gigs. There's a ton of detail about the Internet, including web sites, affiliate programs, e-newsletters, blogs, web rings, online communities, and more.
*Ugh* -- after reading all this stuff, your mind feels like your stomach does when rolling out of one'a them "all you can eat" buffets! It's almost more than a single brain can contain. How did Sarah write all this anyway?
My copy is so heavily highlighted that I can't find very much white on each page between the yellow. I expect to type in all this useful info and incorporate it into my own marketing plan, and I'll probably need a couple weeks just to type!
In Section III, "Special Markets," there's an entire chapter on Christian homeschooling. Anything you might want to know specific to that market is there. There are also chapters on ebooks, and also Spanish language resources.
Throughout the book, you'll find a veritable "Who's Who" of well known Christian small publishers, including many who serve the ever-expanding Christian homeschool curriculum market.
Again, everyone from established publishers and vendors, to wannabees like me who can't find their backsides with both hands -- will find this book to be an extremely valuable resource for all aspects of self-publishing. Sarah herself said that she has accumlated all this info over many years, and her labors are very apparent. The book is worth its weight in gold and real bargain at only $17.99 for a 200 page paperback.
The book is entitled:
"your guide to MARKETING books in the Christian marketplace"
by Sarah Bolme
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An absolute "must-have" for anyone involved in marketing Christian books, January 5, 2007
This review is from: Your Guide to Marketing Books in the Christian Marketplace (Paperback)
Written by Sarah Bolme, the co-founder and director of Christian Small Publishers Association, Your Guide to Marketing Books in the Christian Marketplace is a straightforward guide for publishers, self-publishers and authors seeking to promote quality books specifically among Christians. Chapters discuss basic steps such as securing distribution and garnering book reviews, how to connect with Christian retail stores and churches, harnessing the power of the Internet, reaching out to special markets such as the Christian homeschool market, eBooks, and markets for Spanish-language Christian books, and much more. Contact information and URLs for stores and websites enhances this experience-tested, high-quality "how to" guide. An absolute "must-have" for anyone involved in marketing Christian books, though the general tips, tricks, and techniques will prove useful for marketing mainstream books as well.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The secret weapon for Christian authors and publishers, March 7, 2007
This review is from: Your Guide to Marketing Books in the Christian Marketplace (Paperback)
Sarah Bolme's "Your Guide to Marketing Books in the Christian Marketplace," will be a welcome addition to any Christian author's or publisher's library, as it has recently become to mine. Bolme, the co-founder and director of the Christian Small Publishers Association (CSPA), has put together an easily accessible array of information that answers the questions most commonly asked by those contemplating a plunge into the world of Christian book marketing.
Bolme understands the shades of difference that separate the Christian market from the secular alternatives. She adroitly covers all the essential bases--promotion, publicity, distribution, special sales and traditional marketing. Her detailed contact listings are the golden nuggets that give the book its unfathomable value. An author or publisher armed with this expert guide would have to try hard not to succeed.
I now have valuable information I had not seen anywhere else, and I have been involved in Christian publishing for more than seven years. Every Christian author and publisher needs this book. Naturally, it is in the distribution pipeline and readily available, despite the fluctuating Amazon listed availability.
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