WEB SEMINAR

Tips for Authors, Editors and Publishers
by Ron Mader

BOOK AWARD WIKI
WEB 1, 2, 3 FORUM

Life is like a piano. What you get out of it depends on how you play it.
- Active Participation Notebook

PHOTO GALLERY: Books

Planeta.com strives to be friendly to readers, authors and publishers. The following tips will help media pros make the most of this website.

SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES

Please note that we are putting into practice a number of sustainable practices and this includes not receiving any unsolicited materials in print or online.

Requests
Print Materials - please do not send unsolicited catalogs, flyers, postcards or books.
Email - Please do not add us to an email newsletter or add our address to a list of cc'd addresses.

How to stay in contact
We would like to engage with your publishing house and offer the following ways to stay in contact:

Basics

1) Search for your book, author and region -- what is already featured on Planeta.com?
1) Please let us know which is the best contact person and email for your publishing house. Also, notify us if there is a change in the contact.
2) Let us know if you have an RSS feed or twitter account
3) Consider adding a link to Planeta.com from your website (if you don't have one already) and we can create a publishing house-specific topic within our Forum for you to post 1-2 paragraph announcements. Check out the Media Branch.
4) Invite your authors and editors to take a good look at Planeta.com and let us know if you see ways to collaborate. If you would like to submit an article for Planeta.com or suggest a link, please check out our writers' guidelines.
5) Keep an eye on our book of the year award.

Advanced

Let us know what eco and social practices your business employs. If you document these practices online, so much the better!
Do you have a strategy for using Web 2.0 tools, including Facebook, Flickr and YouTube?
Do you have digital versions of your books available?
Set up a conversation via skype about ways to collaborate.
Search for your book(s) featured on Planeta.com.
For those interested in taking a stand, support fair trade for travel writing.
Help us keep the bibliographies current. Also, please report dead links.
Repeating the advice above, when making contact via email, please do not send unsolicited attachments. (email top tips)

STAYING IN TOUCH

Please make sure we have your current email and RSS feed.

INCENTIVES

Authors who participate in the Planeta Forum, who participate in the Book of the Year Award or who provide excerpts from their work for publication are most likely to have their books featured in a big way. It is our way of saying 'thank you' for active participation.

Examples

Costa Rica Conversation with Beatrice Blake
Panama Conversation with William Friar
Central America Conversation with Joshua Berman
Open Spaces Conversation with Harrison Owen
Conversation with Carol Patterson

Features

Nimbin's Aquarius Festival - Bill Dalton
All hands on deck - Carl and Erlet Cater
Setting Course - Carl and Erlet Cater

PLANETA

Voting is open until November 30 for Planeta.com's 2009 Book of the Year Award. We are in the process of updating our list of top shelf books and new titles.

BIBLIOGRAPHIES

Australia
Business
Central America
Caribbean
Ecotourism
Environment
Food
Journalism
Latin America
Mexico
Mexico/US Border
South America
Spirituality
Web Books
World

THINGS FOR AUTHORS TO KEEP IN MIND

Make sure that the most recent edition of your book is featured in the relevant bibliography.

Participate in our forum ... and don't just promote your book. Knowledgeable participation is promotion!

Ask your publisher to send a review copy (or copies if you wish us to share).

You are welcome to use a quote from our review for use in promotion.

Prepare graphics -- banners and logos -- that can be used online. If you don't have those skills, ask a talented graphics design artist friend to help you. The most common size for a banner is 468x60.

IF YOU HAVE A WEBSITE

If you add a link to Planeta, we can establish a reciprocal link to your author website. Reciprocity rules!

Show the cover of your book on your website. Make sure that the image is available in different formats -- from low resolution (and fast to download) to high resolution that can be used in print media.

Include brief reviews and testimonials.

Include a brief autobiography. Let readers know who you are.

Explain to readers how they can purchase the book -- online and through various stores.

Include a calendar of upcoming speaking events.

Include links to professional associations of which you are a member.

Participate in relevant online forums. If you participate on the Planeta Forum, please consult with Ron Mader to review the forum guidelines. Hopefully, you are doing this already as part of the Web Seminar!

IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A WEBSITE

Create a website or blog!

Authors are advised to make sure their book is available on Amazon.com. Even if people do not buy the book online, they consult this site for reference. Once your book is listed, ask colleagues to put in a kind 5-star review.

Write your own media release. One good place to distribute announcements (either about the publication or related news that mentions the book) is via PR WEB. The site says the service is free, though it's most effective if you pay the $30 or $40 option.

INTERVIEWS

There are two ways to promote a book via interviews. One is via the Planeta Forum. We invite the author and either the public or a select group to a 2-week dialogue. For an example, Mark Bonta participated in the conversation Listening to Locals to discuss conservation and bird watching.

BLOGGING IT

What are people talking about? Here are the most referenced books on the blogs courtesy of Technorati

EXERCISE

Conduct a google search for your name and which features come up. Check and see if adequate or too much contact information is given. This is a good exercise!

IMPROVING IN-HOUSE COMMUNICATION

Publishers need to find a way to encourage author-to-author author-editor-marketing communication within their enterprises. Current efforts are far from satisfactory. Veteran guidebook author Tom Brosnahan says that forthright dialogue between publisher and author is of great value and can be constructive. "But for it to be so," he explains "There must be a basic congruence of interest between publisher and authors."

THINGS FOR PUBLISHERS TO KEEP IN MIND

Hello, publishers! Planeta features travel guidebooks, nature books and an assortment of texts. If you wish to brainstorm about advertising and/or publishing book development, contact us

A persistent problem that reviewers and distributors have with publishers is the ever-changing email of those in charge of review copies and sales. If you establish a good working relation with a website or a book seller, make it easy for others to stay in contact.

Let readers know who writes for you! In addition, publishers should add links to author websites.

WHAT PUBLISHERS CAN DO

During the Media, Environment and Tourism Conference there was much discussion about how authors and publishers can improve their working relation. Author Richard Mahler presented the following list of things publishers can do to improve sales:

1) Distributed the book widely in-country, particularly among lodges, outfitters, stores, eco-destinations, and travel agencies that cater specifically to likely readers.

2) Make comp copies available to journalists and publications covering the market.

3) Donate a percentage of book income to local environmental organizations or programs that are deemed worthy and legitimate. This could be used as a promotional tool as well as giving back some money to people who are trying to preserve what the book is describing.

4) Hire a specialist in marketing to travel agents, media outlets, travel bookstores, and others who are in a position to promote the book to those with an obvious interest.

5) Cover the expenses of an author who is ready to do a "road show" promoting his/her new book.

WANNABE AUTHORS

Looking for someone to publish your book? Consult the publishers index and featured self-publication options or try your hand at electronic publication.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT AMAZON.COM

Planeta links to Amazon.com in the above-mentioned bibliographies. Why Amazon? It has been the easiest to use for readers AND this website. A not so trivial fact -- via Amazon.com we sell more than $1,000 each month.

Though it is impossible to track, we believe that our coverage is responsible for more sales. Our recommendations are frequently used by others, including librarians, bookstore owners, professors and other authors. It's impossible how to figure out the amount of sales generated through purchases at bookstores and other venues. More about the difficulty of tracking online sales in our essay on the True Story of Ecommerce!

BOOK COVERS -- Amazon images come in three sizes:

Thumbnail - http://images.amazon.com/images/P/XXXXXXXXXX.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg
Medium - http://images.amazon.com/images/P/XXXXXXXXXX.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg
Large - http://images.amazon.com/images/P/XXXXXXXXXX.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
Replace XXXXXXXXXX with amazon's 10-digit ASIN (ISBN for books).

Good news for authors-- you can list your books via Amazon.com Advantage.

AUTHOR

Ron Mader is the Latin America correspondent for Transitions Abroad and host of the award-winning Planeta.com website.

REFERENCES

PLANETA

EDUCATION

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