The Art of ARC-ing

by MarcyKate Connolly

Advanced review copies, or ARCs, seem to spark two distinct emotions in debut writers: elation (my book is a book!) and confusion (what the heck am I supposed to do with these?). To add to the confusion, depending on your publisher and your contract, you could get anywhere between one single ARC to 20 or more.

Once you’ve got the requisite joy out of your system and have spent some quality time getting to know your ARCs....

Sit back and relax with your ARCs....

And don't forget to show it off to your friends!

...you will likely be told to use them for publicity and outreach.

I know a lot of new authors cringe every time they hear the word publicity, so I thought I’d share some practical ways you can use ARCs for outreach that may or may not be on your radar already:

Getting to know your local librarian. If you’re an introvert (like me), the idea of cold calling/emailing/visiting your local librarian in the hopes they’ll buy your book can be terrifying. However, having something to actually give them (in this case one of your lovely ARCs!), can make that a whole lot easier. It provides an opening for discussion and there’s less pressure. And if you stop by your library and they’re not available, you can always leave the ARC with a staff member in the appropriate section along with a note, a bookmark, and your business card.

Getting to know your local bookseller. Depending on your publisher, your local bookstore may already have ARCs of your book, so this may not need to be high on your list if your publisher is one of the Big Five, for example. But even if they do have your ARC already, it can be a nice gesture, and again, an opening to discuss books in general, as well as the possibility of doing an event there when the book is out. Also, if you’re a young adult author, some indie bookstores have ARC buckets for teens to read and review, which is another opportunity to look into.

Send it on tour! If you’re a debut author (especially a children’s author) you might be part a debut group, most of which tour ARCs among their members. This is a great idea for a couple reasons: 1) If other authors on the tour are comfortable rating your book on Goodreads, then it can give you some good reviews early on 2) It’s an excellent way to begin word of mouth for your book and 3) when you get it back at the end of the tour, you’ll have all sorts of notes from the readers, making a great keepsake.

Give one to a local teacher. (More for YA/MG/Picture book authors, than adult) If you have children in school or know people who are teachers in your local area, consider asking if they’d be interested in reading your book. School visits can be a great way for children’s authors to connect directly with readers, and gifting an ARC could pave the way for one.

Give one to a book blogger. If you’ve made connections to book bloggers, you may want to consider one or two who are particularly excited about your book. Many book bloggers will passionately talk about books they love. This can be a great way to activate word of mouth for your book. 

Send one to your local paper. Always check with your publicist at your publisher before doing this (provided you have one). But if your local paper has a books section or highlights local people, the ARC along with a brief press release could get your book an article or review.

Goodreads giveaway. This is also something to check with your publisher about first, as many do this and you don’t want to duplicate efforts. If they’re not running one it can be a great way to connect with Goodreads users who may not yet have heard of your book.

Blog/social media giveaways. People LOVE to win stuff. You can setup a rafflecopter giveaway to make the entry requirements things like following you on twitter, facebook, tumblr, etc. The trick is to keep those new followers engaged after the giveaway is over!

Annotated ARC giveaways. Annotated ARCs are a fun thing to giveaway and readers love seeing the notes, fun facts, and behind-the-scenes info. However, they can be time-consuming because you’ll need to go through your entire book and handwrite those notes. If you have the time and inclination, an annotated ARC could set your blog/social media giveaway apart.

Blurbs. Again, depending on your publisher and agent, you may not need to request your own blurbs from established authors. But if you do, those ARCs will come in handy.

Friends and family. This may not have the biggest impact publicity-wise, but giving an ARC to your parents or best friend or whoever you dedicated your book to can be a lovely and much appreciated gesture.

This list is, of course, by no means comprehensive. Please share your suggestions and ideas in the comments! :)

MarcyKate Connolly writes middle grade and young adult fiction and becomes a superhero when sufficiently caffeinated. When earthbound, she blogs at her website and spends far too much time babbling on Twitter. Her debut upper middle grade fantasy novel, MONSTROUS, will be out from HarperCollins Children's Books on February 10, 2015!

How You Can Help Your Small Press Writer Friends – Start by Sharing This Post

by RS Mellette

A while back, Sophie Perinot posted here about how helpful pre-orders are for a published writer. That was way back in 2012, but it's still true today, especially for books coming out from major publishers. The majors have very little patience, so a book that doesn't catch fire right away can quickly fall out of favor. Pre-orders help fight corporate anxiety and give a book better first week numbers. That's a great way to have your purchase do a tiny bit more to help promote the book.

But since 2012, the market has changed dramatically. Small presses and self-published authors play in the same electronic playground as the majors and they are all fighting for the same thing – good word of mouth that turns into sales. Thankfully, small presses have more patience when it comes to building an audience.

Since you're reading this article, you know at least one small press author with a book on the market (me), and probably more. Since you're a nice person you're probably wondering, "How can I help my friends with their book?  I don't know anything about publishing."

Not to worry. In a world full of social media there is plenty you can do to help – and the best news is, you can scale up your participation depending on how much you want to do.

For example:  Let's say the writer you know isn't really someone you know, you know?  Maybe you have thirty-seven mutual friends on Facebook, but for the life of you, you can't remember who this person is. Still, you'd like to do your bit … as long as you can do it from your phone while you're taking a break from work in the restroom. This is easy. If they invite you to like their author's page, do. If they post something about their book, like the post. In two quick seconds, you've done your part.

But let's say you do remember how you know the author. Maybe you went to high school or college together. Sure, you haven't talked to them since then – but fifteen years ago (or thirty… five years ago), you were close friends. You'd like to do a little more to help the author out. What can you do?

Here's the first thing that people often forget to mention:  READ THE BOOK. Chances are, you'll like it. If you don't, you can still politely like their pages and posts. I don't think anyone is going to hunt you down for liking a post about a book that isn't worth the cover price, and you'll still be socially safe when you run into your friend at a reunion.

If you do like the book, then your assistance can scale up again. Go from liking posts to sharing them. A small press book has to sell tens of thousands of copies to be a success on the scale of one from the majors. I don't know of anyone with ten thousand actual friends and family, much less ones that are willing to cough up money for a book. Sharing posts with your friends is the easiest way to have an impact on the number of people who are aware of the title. Hopefully, that awareness will lead to a new reader, and then a new fan.

Still want to do more?  Great!  Post a review on Amazon. Reviews are the biggest way to boost sales, period. Don't worry, you don't have to say much. If you love the book, give it five stars and write something as literary as, "I love this book!"  If you have a Goodreads account, post a review there. While you're at it, copy a link from your Amazon review to Facebook. That way, your friends can click on the link and see your brilliance.

Still want to do more?  You're fantastic!  I hope you're a friend of mine.

Talk about the book with people who might be interested in it. For example:  Say your author-friend has written … I don't know… a Sci-Fi adventure that's good for 6^th-9^th graders. You might know some 6^th-9^th graders. You might know their teachers or librarians. You might have a relative or two looking for good gifts for that hard-to-shop for geeky 'tween. You can be the hero with a single sentence, "I read a book they might like."

And, who knows, if the title becomes a household name, and you're at some stuffy cocktail party and that person who constantly looks down his nose at you mentions the title of the hot new indie book they've just read, you can say, "Oh, yeah, the author is a friend of mine, and I helped make that book the hit that it is."

Look for R.S. Mellette's new book, Billy Bobble Makes a Magic Wand in December from the independent publisher, Elephant's Bookshelf Press.  

R.S. Mellette is an experienced screenwriter, actor, director, and novelist. You can find him at the Dances With Films festival blog, and on Twitter, or read him in the Spring Fevers, The Fall: Tales of the Apocalypse, and Summer's Edge anthologies.  

5 Reasons Authors Should Create Fun Book Memes

by +Jean Oram

First of all, what the heck is a meme? Basically, it is most commonly an image with some text on it which has cultural value. In other words, something shareable. And by shareable, I mean it is something people will want to pass on to their friends because it is funny, ironic, or hits on some cultural phenomenon.

If we really get down to it, often a meme is advertising in one shape, form, or another. Those funny ecards you see on Pinterest and Facebook--advertising. Those goofy ones George Takei shares/makes? Advertising. I know who George is now and I have a very good sense of his brand as well as his sense of humor and even what sort of things he stands for. That is a good use of memes. Plus, his memes get shared a CRAPLOAD. You might even care to toss the word viral in there to describe some of his memes.

How does that happen? The memes have value to the user which makes them want to share them. And by sharing them, they are sending his mini advertisements out in the world on his behalf whether they think of it that way or not. They think of it as sharing something others will like and get a kick out of--and will increase their online esteem in some way.

That is a good meme. And that is why authors should play around with them if it feels like something within their skill set.

Yep, it's a meme. Yep, it is shareable.

5 Reasons Authors Should Create Memes

1. They are fun. If you do it right, you should enjoy the challenge of making one, and readers should want to share them. Exciting!

2. They are free advertising. Free, my friends. Well, if you have your own images.

3. It gets your name and brand and book titles out there (of course, this depends a bit on how you create this meme and whether you include these things). It is said a reader has to see your name/title several times before they actually purchase.

4. They can go viral. Or well, at least get around on Facebook and Pinterest a ton (if they are good) and gain access to places you might not be able to pay to get to.

5. They are a visual way to cement what you have for sale in the minds of others. A picture is worth a 1000 words, right?

Quote, title, cover art, author name. But is it shareable?

What to Put in a Meme

1. Something (your) readers will like.

2. Something that speaks to your brand. Eg. Something about love and romance if you are a contemporary romance writer. (Not gory and dark.)

3. Something that will give the reader/viewer a sense of who you are and what your books are about in a more specific sense than your general brand. Eg. Maybe an image of your book's setting along with a book or author quote.

4. Something to draw it all back to you whether it is your website's URL in the bottom corner, your name and book title, etc. The purpose (at least in my opinion) is to get something fun out there that leads people back to you. You don't see Kellogg's out there giving away t-shirts without their logo on it, right? Brand it.

5. Cover art--if it fits your meme and your meme is specific to your book, characters, setting, etc. If you are simply quoting yourself on the meaning of love, then your cover art might not suit the meme. However, adding your name (attributing the quote!) as well as adding "author of TITLE" afterwards is smart--and still branding it!

Note: If you are quoting others be sure to attribute it! As well, be very very careful with images. Be sure to find out whether you have the rights to use the image in this way. You may have rights to use an image in your book cover, but check to see if you have the rights to use those individual images in different ways. Rights usage can vary and you may find you need to purchase an additional license to use a cover image in other materials or if distribution of that image reaches a certain threshold. As an author/writer it is ALWAYS best to err on the side of caution--even if it means falling off your wallet. The cost of an image is less than a legal suit. And they DO happen.

If you want to get into the nitty gritty of memes and the ins and outs and faux pas of putting together a meme, and what to do with one once you've made it, jump over to my website TheHelpfulWriter.com where I'm talking about memes in more depth and getting downright specific about what works and what doesn't.

Now that you've looked at memes from the write angle, what do you think of memes? What makes you share them? Have you ever created one? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

Jean Oram is a meme creating fool. Okay, not exactly, but she has played around with making a few for her free ebook Champagne and Lemon Drops. Some of which you may see in this post (and are completely shareable)! Connect with Jean at TheHelpfulWriter.com--one tip a week to help make you a better writer. You can also find her here: JeanOram.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

5 Tips for Holding an Online Contest

by Jean Oram

Hosting an online contest whether it's on your blog, website, Twitter, Facebook, or all of the above is a great way to reward your audience, create buzz, expand your reach, and promote your brand or product (book!).

However, not all contests are created equal. A few weeks ago we held our first contest here on From The Write Angle and while its success may have seemed guaranteed and easy, a lot of time and planning went into the contest to ensure it didn't flop miserably.

If you are considering hosting a contest now, or in the future, here are Five for Friday tips to help you make the most out of your contest.

Five Ways to Get The Most Out of Your Online Contest:

1. Purpose

It's important to know why you are holding a contest. Is it strictly for fun and a way to reward your loyal readers? It is to expand your reach? Promote your book? Generate more "likes" or followers?

Depending on your purpose, it will change your approach as well as your contest criteria.

2. Criteria

Successful contests take a lot of time. Do you have the time (and desire) to read through a large pile of flash fiction (we did!), or do you simply want to draw a name from a hat? Do you have the time to build buzz before and during your contest as well as draw and announce winners followed by distributing prizes? Don't mess with your contest's schedule—plan ahead!

If you are hoping to generate "likes" on Facebook you might consider holding the contest right on Facebook. (Note: If you are holding a contest on Facebook you will need to use a Facebook app in order to stay within Facebook's contest holding rules—if you don't they could shut down your page and account without warning. Eek!)

When determining your contest's criteria, keep in mind that asking people to do great things for you such as like your Facebook page, follow your blog, follow you on Twitter, Tweet your contest, or whatever else you might come up with, may reduce the number of potential entrants significantly. Some people won't jump through hoops, aren't on social networks, or simply don't have the time to find you and follow you in all these places. Essentially you are asking them to promote you ... but for what? The slim chance they may win. Make it easy for them and make it worth it. Contests are fun. Not work for the entrant.

If your purpose is to gain followers and you really want to make following you a condition of entry, consider this idea: Give every entrant one entry for doing something simple like commenting on your blog. Then give an additional entry for any 'bonus' thing they do such as tweeting your contest. This way those who really desire the prize and don't mind sharing the word and have the time to do so, get more entries. But remember that you will have to keep track of who has jumped through which entry hoop. As well, what do you do for those who are already following you?

3. Details

Details are important and can make or break a contest. Remember to tell people HOW to enter. (You might be surprised how many contests forget this detail). WHERE to enter (especially important if you are talking about your contest on multiple social media platforms). WHEN to enter. (When does the contest open and close? Don't forget timezone info!) WHO can enter. (Can previous winners enter? Is this contest closed to people outside your home country?)

Always, always provide a direct link to your contest page or post. If people have to sift through blog posts, website pages, etc., to find your contest you will lose them. Make it easy and you will gain more entrants.

4. Prizes

Large prizes are wonderful, but keep your costs in mind. Who is going to pay for the prize and its shipping? Is a $50 prize going to be worth the five entries you receive? What about if you had 50 entries? What ROI (Return on Investment) are you hoping for? What will it take to accomplish that?

If you aren't sure, take a look around at networks similar to yours. Based on their contests, guesstimate how many entries you could get.

And when choosing your prizes, don't forget to consider what would appeal to your audience.

Note: You might consider a smaller prize for your first contest—think of it as a trial, risk-free learning contest. Save the big prizes for when you really know what you are doing and can knock your contest right out of the park with its awesomeness.

5. Promotion

If you want to reach new people and expand the reach of your contest, you are probably going to have to publicize your contest until the cows come home. Smart, unique ways to expand your contest's reach is essential. Overall, people retweet funny and unique, not spammy and self-promotional.

When promoting your contest you could do like many do (a.k.a. the lazy way) and rely on the entrants to spread the word. But keep in mind that asking your entrants to publicize your contest is bittersweet for them. Every person they tell who enters decreases their odds of winning—and they know it. It's up to you to make sure you find interesting ways to promote your contest over different networks, on different days, and at different times of the day. Don't expect people to miraculously find you and enter.

Direct links to your contest page/post (as mentioned already) are vital, but so is adding a footnote subsequent blog posts as well as a note or badge on your sidebar or wherever you can add one. Promote, promote, promote! Don't let people come to your site and miss your contest. Most people over promote their books and under promote their contests.

For example, we (the FTWA team) barely promoted our contest for about the first week or so. And we got two entries. Then we gave ourselves a little smack and tweeted, shouted, Facebooked, blogged, and taglined about the contest wherever seemed suitable. That afternoon we got four more entries and it kept growing from there. So do what you need to do to get the word out!

Note: Use hashtags like #free and #contest when promoting on Twitter.

Now that you've looked at five contest tips from the write angle, let us know what you think about contests. What advice would you share? What do you like in a contest? What do you hate? What drives you to enter a contest? Have you ever held a contest? Share with us! We'd love to hear your thoughts and make next year's blogiversary contest even bigger and better! (And yes, we are already planning next year!! We're crazy that way.)

Jean Oram usually wins contests when she is the only entrant. She blogs about writing, and also tweets about it, facebooks, Google+ and pins playful kid's play stuff on Pinterest. (She'd feel like a real winner if you followed her.) ;)

Face Time—Maximizing Author Appearances in an Increasingly Virtual Age

by Sophie Perinot

My debut novel (The Sister Queens) has been in stores for two months. The launch of a book encompasses lots of new experiences—some exciting, some nerve-wracking, some both. Among them, the author appearance, often better known as “the book signing” (though more than signing can be involved). The author events I’ve done thus far have me pondering (right here before your eyes) the anatomy of live appearances and whether they are worth the time they take.

Once upon a time when a writer sold a book to a publisher live author appearances were pretty much a given. Authors from newbie to veteran gamely piled into their cars (or got on planes if their publishers would spring for air travel) and hit a wide swath of bookstore-land, giving readings and signing novels. Nobody questioned the wisdom of the live author appearance as a way to sell books and generate buzz.

But the times, they are a-changing! In the world of the “virtual bookstore” in-person author events are less and less frequent (unless of course you are a wildly popular NYT Bestselling author with a cult-following and then your publisher will have you out on tour). This is not necessarily a bad trend–the plain fact is the internet provides authors with so many new and more efficient ways to connect with potential readers. Ways that don’t involve spending a fortune on gas, shirking their day jobs or suffering from jet lag. For example, I just finished a blog tour that took me to more than 45 blogs catering to readers looking for new and notable historical novels. My name and my novel were brought to the attention of hundreds (if not thousands) of book fans while I remained comfortably ensconced in my home-office.

Still, especially on your home-turf, author appearances can make sense. My advice—if you are going to do them: 1) keep your expectations realistic; and 2) arrange and execute them in the manner most likely to maximize their sales impact.

If you are a newbie author and you expect a reading or signing to draw an audience full of book-buyers, you are likely to be disappointed. Oh you may have a super turn out—particularly if the event is close to home. Your Aunt Tilly and the cousins will pile into the front row, the book club from your church will wave to you from the “cheap seats.” Folks from the office might even drop by. Everyone will be there to celebrate your success. That’s a gratifying feeling—pretty damn gratifying. Enjoy it. But recognize those full seats probably won’t increase your over-all sales numbers by much. Why? Because these attendees are folks you should be able to count on to buy your book even without an event. I mean, does Aunt Tilly want to stay on your Christmas card list for next year or not? Your friends, your relatives, your colleagues, are BUILT IN sales. You don’t need an event to woo them.

This does NOT mean an event can’t sell books. But you have to plan it carefully AND you need to THINK BEYOND THOSE ACTUALLY IN ATTENDANCE.

“What’s your advice Sophie?” So glad you asked!


Triple-treat author appearance (I am on the far right)


Plan a “value added” event to get the biggest interest and attendance from potential buyers. A signing is easy. You show up, sit at a table surrounded by piles of your books, talk to anyone who approaches, and sign books they purchase. Not much prep on your part. But not too exciting for readers either. Give potential buyers of your book original content—something they can’t get from your book itself or your website. That will make them turn out.

My favorite author thus far was the panel discussion (billed as a historical fiction triple-treat) I did with fellow historical writers Kate Quinn and Stephanie Dray. We prepared a discussion called “Sex, Lies and History: A Literary Threesome.” Those who turned out had something more to see (and hear) than authors sitting quietly at a table. They witnessed a lively debate on, among other things, common misconceptions about women in history and the trend towards more sexual content in mainstream fiction. The audience was also able to participated during the Q&A portion of the discussion—and believe me they did, enthusiastically. Every seat available was filled, and many of those bodies were people none of us had met before. These were people turning out to be entertained and educated, not just to support a friend or family member.

My book (and banner) in the B&N front window

Promote your event—tweet it, blog about it, put announcements in your local paper and in on-line sources for local events and entertainment. Consider having a banner or foam-core poster made that you can use to promote a variety of events (you can see the one I created in one of the pictures accompanying this post). Often you can get the venue hosting your event to display this for you and that can really pay off (see below). Even if the people who see your announcements or poster don’t show up for your actually appearance, this type of publicity increases name recognition for you and for your book. The more often potential readers run into your work the more likely they will start to have the feeling your book is “hot.” That’s a sale waiting to happen.

If you are lucky, the bookstore hosting your event will promote it as well. This, in my opinion, is what really distinguishes the super-worth-while event from the average appearance. The Barnes & Noble that hosted the triple-event mentioned above gave each of our work a prominent window display—dozens of copies of our books right in the front window with huge banners showing our covers super-sized. You can’t pay for that type of exposure if you are a debut author—literally. Your publisher may buy coop placement on those coveted front tables (“New Releases” anyone?!) but the chances of you being in a front window of a major chain bookstore—let alone for a full week—are pretty slim. Now THAT’S the type of exposure that sells books because it makes you look like one of the big dogs.

Be gracious and friendly to the bookstore staff, whether in you are stopping by the store to discuss details of your upcoming event or during your author appearance. I recently did a signing at a nearby bookstore. Unlike my panel event, there were no chairs sent out for an audience and I gave no presentation of any sort. The entire event was just me, chit-chatting with shoppers and hoping some of them would buy a signed copy of my book. And some did—but probably not enough to warrant two hours of my time.

Sophie Perinot is a writer of historical fiction and wielder of a mean moderating ruler at AgentQuery Connect, where you'll find her as Litgal. You can also find her on Twitter and at her website.