Building a buzz: Creating an online presence to make your book findable

So—you’ve completed your latest publication. There’s been a lot of sweat, and maybe some tears, but you did it.

Wouldn’t it be great if your hard work was over?

Unfortunately, outside of your immediate circle of colleagues, friends, and family, no one knows about your book. You need to get the word out.

Fortunately, you don’t have to be a marketing expert to create a stellar online presence. There are many simple, accessible ways to make your publication findable online.

Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: April 9, 2021

Academic and textbook authors are in a unique position of being both active learners and teachers (even if not in official teaching positions) through our writing. In order to make contributions to the field, we must continue to explore, learn, and grow in our discipline, but through our writing and contributions, we also write with the intention of teaching others.

This week’s collection of articles has some great resources for continuing to learn to be a stronger writer.

Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: July 3, 2020

Do you like what you do? Are you impressed with your writing, your research, and your ability to share your work with others? Maya Angelou defines success as “liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”

In this week’s collection of articles we have found advice on making your research paper more impressive, connecting with others,  taking a chance and overcoming imposter syndrome, and ways your age affects your writing. We have also found guidance on marketing in times of crisis, technology trends impacting scholarly communications, and pros and cons of working remotely.

13 ways to promote and market your book on a budget

In today’s publishing environment, author involvement in the promotion and marketing of a book is critical to the success of a title. John Bond, Riverwinds Consulting; Kathleen Reid, VP and Commerical Lender for Medical Learning, Elsevier; and Diane Harnish, Head of Primal Pictures, Global Director of Academic and Government Markets, Informa Group, shared their combined marketing experience with authors who are both budget-conscious and market-minded.  

These experienced marketing professionals from academic publishers focused on low to no cost ideas for how authors can become a partner in the marketing efforts of the publisher. After all, who knows the book better than the author? Below are some highlights from their 2019 Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference session, “Promoting and Marketing Your Book on a Budget”.

A public relations timeline to secure more media for your book

In a recent TAA webinar, “How to Secure More Media for Your Book and Brand”, Brian Feinblum shared his experience and expertise in public relations, especially as it relates to authors, their books, and their personal brand.

In addition to useful tips for how to approach and get media coverage (and some common mistakes authors make in trying to do so), Feinblum shared a timeline for successful execution of a publicity plan. The plan outlined below begins six months in advance of publication and continues 90-120 days after release.

Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: May 3, 2019

This week’s collection of articles from around the web is full of opportunities. Opportunities to improve your academic reading practice, to tell your story, to make your writing more interesting, to broadcast your research, or to go freelance. It’s also filled with challenges and uncertainty. Challenges of parenting and academia, predatory journals, the uncertain future of university presses, neurodiversity in scholarly publishing, and the affect of the planned merger between Cengage and McGraw-Hill on the textbook market.

With each opportunity comes challenge and uncertainty. Equally so, with each challenge or uncertainty comes opportunity. As Ray Bradbury once said, “You fail only if you stop writing.” So, here’s to success. Happy writing!