Unfortunately, this means the annual Authors and Books Festival held in conjunction with the conference will also be postponed.

The panel of judges included Jamieson Villenueve, publisher at Night Wolf Publications, Canada; Jeff Schlesinger, publisher at Barringer Publishing, Florida; Megan Records, editor at Kensington Publishing, New York; and Holly McClure, literary agent at Sullivan-Maxx Literary Agency, Ohio.

The judges awarded second-place to Craig S. Garrett for his MS titled The Sheriff and the Boy; first-place to Joyce McDonald for her MS titled The Benediction; and grand prize to Anthony Rao for his MS titled The Last Hour. For his prize, Rao receives a publishing contract from Night Wolf Publications.

Congratulations to all the winners who placed and congratulations to everyone who took advantage of this great opportunity to receive critique from industry professionals.

The 2012 Writers’ Conference Writers’ Contest (WC2) rules and deadline will be posted later this summer at this site and on multiple social media platforms.

Sunday afternoon, Conference Chair Sandy Lender drew correct game pieces from the B&N box to award t-shirt, mug & mousepad prizes to Jack Foard, Richard Ballo and Nick Kalvin. The grand prize of a Nook eReader went to Eva Gasser-Sanz. Congratulations!

Christy at Tropics Real Estate alerted us that the 5th Avenue group awarded the following prizes to these winners:

• Ann D’Alessandro – Autographed Book by Julie (JB Heart) Parker, “The Silent Fear”
• Phyllis Hildebrand – (2) Night Stay at The Inn on Fifth
• Marilyn Espinosa – $25 Gift Certificate from Petunia’s Fashions
• Gary Mazeffa – (1) Free Men’s Cut from Oliver’s Barber Shop
• Tammy Denison – (1) Pint per month for 6 months from Regina ’s Ice Cream
• Dom Mansillo – $50 Gift Certificate from Vergina
• David Repath – $25 Gift Certificate from Paddy Murphy’s Irish Pub
• Hugette Nelson – $25 Gift Certificate from Random Acts of Art
• Renia Rusak – $40 Gift Certificate from Florida Olive Oil

Congratulations to everyone who came out and had a great time at the festival and the conference!

The presentation began with two aspects of successful branding and selling. Jones stressed that no matter what marketing idea you choose to use, you want a professional presentation. “Use your resources to present the information in the most professional way possible,” Jones said.

The second aspect of selling is to set your standard. Define success for yourself. Jones reminded the crowd that most entrepreneurs are motivated by independence and creativity; not money. The participants in the NPC 9^th annual Writers’ Conference defined success by those less tangible items as well. They saw the following as means by which to measure success: seeing your name in print; having your publication/work in a college or university library; seeing your book in the book store; being asked to participate in a conference; google stats/alerts; networking level; financial/bottom line; answering “Did I do the best that I can do?”; finishing a book/story/poem; answering “Did I make a difference?” Personal satisfaction was a success/goal for many in the crowd.

The group participating in the 101 Marketing Ideas forum had a variety of books and book-related services to “sell.” They included picture books, screenplays, murder mysteries, inspirational romance, fantasy novels, thrillers, a business book, speaking engagements and workshops, consulting services and diagnostics, freelance articles, and more.

To market all these products, Jones started off by discussing the positive experience he’s had at MindZoo working with FGCU to give a student intern marketing experience. While his intern takes classes and learns social media maximization, Jones gets the advantage of an always-learning employee assisting him in his marketing efforts.

Other ideas for marketing books that the audience shared include print professional materials (such as bookmarks, flyers for upcoming events or posters of your book cover); apply your skill to a different industry or environment; go on an online book tour and partner-market with other bloggers; join LinkedIn and participate in the relevant groups there; invite high-profile guests to be interviewed on your blog; use your blog to build your brand; when visiting book stores, adjust your book on the shelf so the cover faces “out”; provide freelance articles to relevant publications; use facebook to post your events; take advantage of uncluttered mail boxes with direct mail; send press releases; make sure your blog is a soft-sell; book public speaking engagements such as keynote speeches, conference panels, outreach presentations (joining Toastmasters was at the top of one member’s list). Audience members pointed out that assisted living places, libraries and clubs love to host authors for presentations.

The forum ran out of time for more, but we hope these ideas spark creative marketing ideas for you as well.

“Some days, you just want the dragon to win.”

CPA Susan Rhea of the Caloosahatche [sic] tax preparation office in Cape Coral, Fla., joins the esteemed faculty at the 9th annual Writers’ Conference to discuss this and other tax questions relevant to authors.

Did you know the IRS frowns upon writing-related tax deductions until you have a published work to “prove” you’re not supporting a mere hobby?

Did you know you can write off your registration fee for the conference this weekend as a writing business expense? Susan will tell you how to do it correctly and under what type of “corporation” you should file to maximize efficacy.

You can also write off your mileage driving to and from the NPC 9th annual Writers’ Conference on your 2011 income taxes. Sadly, if you hurry too quickly to get to the first session(s) at 9:30 Saturday morning and wind up with a moving violation, all you do with that money is support the Florida economy. You don’t get to write off your speeding ticket…unless you want to raise red flags with the IRS and face an audit down the road.

Join us for a great session with Q&A time afterward. The registration link is in a box to the right of this article, and we will take walk-up registrations with a check at the door. We look forward to seeing you at the conference Saturday morning at the FGCU Renaissance Center at 1010 5th Avenue South.

“Some days, you just want the dragon to win.”

Realms of Fantasy Magazine

Writer’s Digest Magazine

Jo Linsdell (author of the “online presence” article in your goodie bag)

Nancy J. Cohen (keynote speaker at the Celebrity Luncheon)

Lisa Black

Randy Jones (leader of the 101 Marketing Ideas discussion)

Night Wolf Publications

OfficeMax

(others who requested anonymity)

Be sure to dig out your “I Write, But I Also Read” game card when you pick up your bag so you can play to win prizes including a NOOK eReader.

I’d like to get everyone to concentrate on the “writing” conference. Yes, there will be people who love to read at such a conference, but the majority of the attendees come to a writer’s conference to learn, to advance their careers, to network, or to get ideas for marketing and promoting their latest releases.

For instance, at this April 9-10 Naples Press Club’s 9^th annual Writers’ Conference in Naples, Fla., networking opportunities abound for many reasons, one of which is the presence of book and magazine publishers participating in panels, presentations and pitch sessions. Whether your interest is in pitching a novel or submitting news and feature articles, high-caliber professionals will be on hand to discuss your topic—and take your business card and synopsis home with them.

This year’s conference also features published authors who know which publishers are seeking submissions and in what genres. They know which agents in their immediate circles are acquiring and which agents have full plates right now.

You can see the benefit of visiting with conference attendees and presenters between sessions and during lunch breaks at this, and any, writing conference. But there are other goals to be met when attending a writing conference. You’re not just out to see what other people can do for you. No matter where you are in your writing, publishing or marketing journey, you have ideas and advice that someone in the audience hasn’t thought of yet. And vice versa.

Do you enjoy helping a newbie craft a killer query letter? Maybe you get a thrill out of critiquing first chapters for colleagues. Are you a good listener who can let a stressed-out and nervous writer bounce his 30-second pitch off you before he goes in to meet with a publisher? How wonderful is it when colleagues can do these things for you? 

Attending a writing conference puts these opportunities, and more, directly in your path in an energizing period of time that ramps up your writing mojo. I invite you to check out the curriculum and faculty for the 2011 Writers’ Conference and then to click on the orange “Register Now” button in the box at the top right of this page. We’d love to include you in the energy and opportunities there.

Should you see any accuracy gaps in spelling or location, please notify me via e-mail birgit.pauli@gmail.com. Last updated: March 25, 2011

First, the book store book signing is probably the most popular event a new author considers when looking for outlets to showcase his or her work. And why not? Book stores have something other stores don’t; they have a built-in clientele looking specifically for books to buy. They also have built-in competition.

When you arrive at the local Barnes & Noble or Mom & Pop’s Great Books for your signing, you want to attract the attention of browsers and buyers away from the competition on the shelves. You’ll want to have professional-looking signage. You’ll want to have useful giveaways that give browsers and buyers a reason to stop in front of your table. You’ll want to have an exciting book trailer/movie playing on your video screen to call attention to your title. The idea is to bring attention to your book before letting those readers get to the shelves beyond you.

On one hand, the in-a-book-store signing is advantageous because the people coming into the store expect to find books. They are probably avid readers and will likely give you some of their time to investigate who you are, what your genre is, what your title is about, how long you’ve been in the publishing game, etc.

The down side to the in-a-book-store signing is you’re in a book store among thousands of titles with which browsers and buyers already have a familiarity and comfort level. If they’ve come into the store, they may already have a product in mind. You’ve got to distract them into discovering you while picking out whatever else they’re there to buy.

When you think outside the box and book a signing at a non-book store, you eliminate the built-in competition, but introduce new challenges. Let’s look at some of the up-sides.

First, if your publisher has released your latest cook book, perhaps you’d like to arrange a signing at Cracker Barrel or an upscale kitchen utensil boutique. If the main character in your suspense thriller is a sommelier, you might request a signing at World Market or the Naples Wine Festival. Naples’s own Jan Nieman is one of the authors participating in this year’s Authors and Books Festival April 9; she’s written a book called Going to the Dogs: Confessions of a Mobile Pet Groomer. She is perfectly matched from noon to 3 p.m. with merchant Pucci & Catana Pet Boutique.

By matching your book’s subject matter with a vendor or public event, you target an audience while getting away from competition (other books).

One of the disadvantages to opting for a non-book-store signing is educating the typical shopper. As a buyer of forks and knives, Mrs. Suzie Homemaker isn’t expecting to see an author behind a table full of cook books when she walks into Utensils R Us. You have to explain to her what you are, what you have for sale, why it’s in a utensil store, and then pitch your novel. At the book store, all you had to do was pitch the novel!

As a fantasy author, I typically have to educate the general public about my genre as well. You can’t tell people “it’s a fantasy novel about…” I must tell them that “fantasy is like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.” This is why I like to do non-book-store signings in weapons shops and pewter galleries.

Be creative.

A way to be creative, beyond matching your book with the right vendor or public event, is in buzz-creation ahead of the signing day. Send out press releases to author-friendly publications before their deadlines. Send out notices to your e-mail groups, association newsletter editors, friends, etc. Post the event on your blog, on your website, on your facebook page, and tweet about it more than once. Remember that Twitter has more traffic on Thursdays and Fridays than any other day of the week, so you’re more likely to catch your followers on those days.

Make flyers that the store owner can distribute prior to the event—but make sure you spell-check the flyers and prepare them in a professional manner to reflect well on you and the store owner. He or she is your partner in a successful signing. By hosting you in his or her store, the owner is doing you a favor; you’re also doing him or her a favor by attracting more customers during your signing time. You’re probably bringing in new customers that will share details of this “new” find with their friends.

Invite certain people specifically, and ask them to bring friends.

If you can “plant” a friend or two in the store with bookmarks (or outside the store if it’s in a shopping center or strip mall) to hand out in a friendly, non-pushy manner, it will go far in your day-of marketing efforts. Your day-of marketing should include the same items discussed for the book store signing. Include professional signage that indicates your name and book cover/title. A video screen on your table can show your book trailer on endless loop—but be prepared to tell people the book hasn’t been released as a movie (yet!). Remember the freebies and giveaways that match your book’s theme.

Of course the ideas listed in this article are in addition to great ideas that you or your publisher can think of. Not every marketing concept resonates with every author, so pick and choose what elements of the “plans” outlined here work for you and adapt them to your book signing adventures. Whatever you come up with, may your signings be a great success!

Keep in mind that the Authors and Books Festival, hosted by the 5^th Avenue DIB in partnership with the Naples Press Club, takes place April 9 during the NPC 9^th annual Writers’ Conference. You can check out the schedule and route at this website to see all the participating authors and where they’ll be stationed. Please make plans to stop by and visit these authors and to check out their great titles during the festival. They’ve worked hard to bring these words to life, and worked hard to make the festival  great.

We are working on a schedule now with the merchants and we will post updates throughout next week! If you happen to be an exhibitor, make sure you follow us on Twitter@npcscoop where we will post links and news about the Authors & Books Festival as well as the Naples Writers’ Conference.  Or you can join us on Facebook! If you as an exhibitor have a facebook page, feel free to share it on our wall, or leave a comment on this post

Now browse and discover new authors & books!

Last updated: March 25th, 2011 by bph

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