Interview of Nancy I. Sanders Author of America’s Black Founders

Today, I’m happy to be hosting Day 6 of a Virtual Book Tour for America’s Black Founders by Nancy I. Sanders. Recently, I interviewed Nancy on Book Bites for Kids, but in today’s interview Nancy gives some great marketing tips that other children’s book authors might want to try.

Q: How can authors help market their own books?

A: Once a book is published, authors can step up to help market their books in a variety of ways. The key is to think of what you can do, rather than feel overwhelmed by the activities which seem outside of your comfort zone.

Newspapers
For my newest book, America’s Black Founders, the publicist and marketing department have been very busy getting the word out. Among other things, they arranged a phone interview with the Chicago Tribune. That was a lot of fun!

Newspapers are a great way to spread the word. Most have book review sections and these days, many have bloggers who blog about resources for parents, which have great potential for children’s book reviews. I contacted my local newspaper as well as a larger nearby newspaper and both were interested in interviews. My sister also arranged for an article to appear in my hometown newspaper, too, since she still lives where I grew up.

Host a Virtual Book Tour
As you know, I’m hosting a Virtual Book Tour to celebrate the release of my book. This is my third Virtual Book Tour, and I think it really is a great way authors can help market their books. Even if you’re not a techie-type of person, you can set up your own tour and save thousands of dollars since it’s basically free to do your own. All I had to do was organize 2 weeks of official stops to visit during the tour (other blogs or websites) and think of creative ways to have fun with the guests who visit. Plus, I tried getting the word out to as many of my friends, teachers, and writer’s networks as possible. If you want to give it a try, on my blog at www.nancyisanders.wordpress.com, I explain step-by-step how I organized my tour for my book D is for Drinking Gourd: An African American Alphabet. Just follow the steps to put your own tour together. Then you can archive the tour on your blog so that others can follow along even after the tour is over.

Website
I created a simple website for my book at www.AmericasBlackFounders.wordpress.com. The great thing about this website was that after I submitted the manuscript, we had to cut a couple of chunks of material to make it shorter and more cost effective to print. I didn’t throw away this material. Instead, I posted it on the website so it helps give background information about the book. For your book’s own website, include some “behind-the-scenes” tidbits about your book. It helps make your book come to life in the hearts and minds of your reader.

Teacher’s Guide
My publisher creates teacher’s guides to go along with their books, but I used some more of the material I cut from the manuscript to create my own worksheets that teachers can download from my blog and photocopy to use with their students. I’m giving these freebies away during my Virtual Book Tour and then also will offer them as free downloads from the book’s website after the tour is done.

Book Trailer and Blogtalk Radio Interview
A booktrailer on Youtube is fun, and an audio interview on Book Bites for Kids (hosted by Suzanne Lieurance!) is a fantastic opportunity for parents, teachers, and students to listen to the writer, especially if you provide a link to the archived interview on your blog or website. Adding creative perks like this really helps.

Submit to Awards
Another way authors can help market their books is to learn which awards their books qualify for. I’m working with the marketing department on this for America’s Black Founders to be sure to research which awards we can send it to and submit it before the deadlines are closed. You have to stay on top of this because some deadlines are very tight and you only have a month or so after the book is released to send it in. Even if your book doesn’t win the award, it gets fantastic exposure in the hands of national review committees with judges and reviewers at the top of the children’s book industry.

Amazon Top 500 Reviewers
And speaking of reviewers, Amazon.com has people who are known as Top Reviewers. If you can do some exploring and find someone who is a “Top 500 Reviewer” and reviews children’s books like yours, search in “People” on the site to find his or her profile and contact information. Send that information to your publicist or simply contact the reviewer yourself and ask if there would be an interest in reviewing your book for Amazon.

E-mail Teachers
You can also help get the word out to teachers across the nation. These days, many school districts post the e-mails of their teachers on their site. (Some districts aren’t yet up on the web enough to include staff listings, but just look for those that are.) Make a list of 5-10 large cities across the nation. Start with one city. Search for school districts in that city. When you find one, go to a school’s website. Click on their link for “staff.” E-mail a short blurb about your new book to teachers at the grade levels that might be interested in reading your book to their students. The first day I tried this, I got hits on my book’s website later that day from the city I targeted. That shows that teachers were interested in the e-mails I sent.

Special Interest Groups
It’s also fairly easy to find e-mails or contact information on the Internet for special interest groups that might be interested in your book. Just devote a little bit of time each day for marketing your book and it won’t seem like an overwhelming task.

Stepping forward to help market your book is a great thing for authors to do. Of course, there is the typical book signing or school visit, but don’t just stop there. There are many ways you can help get the word out so your book can get into the hands of your readers.

To follow all the links on Nancy’s virtual book tour for America’s Black Founders, visit Nancy’s blogzone at www.nancyisanders.com.