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Bookmasters Appoints Noble Marketing Sales Agency for National Coverage of CBA Markets

April 30, 2012 by bookmasters12

Bookmasters, Inc., announces the appointment of the Noble Marketing sales agency as their exclusive representatives to the 1000+ book retailers and wholesalers in the Christian channel. Noble will represent Bookmasters’ growing list of faith-based publishers, which presently include: Assemblies of God’s Gospel Publishing, Influence Resources, and Life Publishers; Kingstone Media; No Greater Joy Ministries; Discipleship Publications International; Ridgeway Publishing; and several others.

Noble Marketing, widely considered the top representative group in the faith-based market, has 12 sales professionals covering all 50 states, from Florida to Alaska. “We are blessed to be able to work with such a highly respected, knowledgeable and efficient sales organization,” says Randy Mackenzie, Vice President of Sales for Bookmasters. “They have earned the trust of their customers over many years by knowing what titles and series go best for each bookstore.”

According to Ted Terry, founder and CEO of Noble, “Working through Bookmasters not only allows us to provide our customers with some of the finest Christian literature in English, such as the AG imprints, but we have the added benefit of some of the finest Christian literature and Bibles in Spanish through Bookmasters’ agreements with top Spanish publishers Planeta and Edibesa.” Terry adds, “Their dedicated Christian print catalog and growing list of Christian publishers show a real commitment to this market.”

Bookmasters, based in Ashland, Ohio, is one of the largest integrated providers of editorial and design, eBook conversion, printing, printed book and eBook distribution, and marketing services for publishers and authors. The organization has remained a publishing industry leader for more than 40 years.

Posted in Department News | Leave a Comment »

Why You Need a Great Press Kit to Get Great Professional Reviews

April 26, 2012 by bookmasters12

iSpy...This month we are running a contest for our fans to submit a blog post about getting reviews in their niche, with the winner receiving a free press kit and review mailing. So I think it is a good idea to explore why you need a great press kit.

A lot of people today think that publishing is now a total do-it-yourself endeavor. There are a lot of automated processes that can help you to do everything on your own. In fact, Bookmasters will soon be launching a great program to help you achieve just that.

However, what a lot of people are finding is that just because you can do quite a bit of the publishing process on your own, you will be best served by outsourcing some of that work to someone that specializes in that area. For example, even with the automated that I mentioned above, you still have the choice to work with cover designers and other options.

Your publicity efforts are something you should also consider outsourcing to a professional. There are lots of websites about how to put together a press kit, but to get results, working with someone that does this kind of work professionally could greatly benefit you.

Putting together a press kit involves a lot more than using a template you found online and plopping in information about your book.  Even if you were to find a book very similar to your own, it is likely that the list of reviewers that you hope to contact will be a bit different than the one in your sample. And even if the content of your press kit is great, you are still missing the relationships, or the warm connection, with the reviewers you are contacting.

A PR professional gives you a lot of added value. These people are able to look at a book and pull out key items of interest. An author can sometimes be blinded to what is best from a reviewer’s viewpoint. The PR professional is foremost a sales person. They also know that the difference between what would hook a consumer and what would hook a reviewer. Again, this is a subtle distinction that an author may not see, but could really harm his or her chances for a review.

Another benefit of a PR profession is their network. Publicity is a connections business. A connected publicist will know what their reviewers are looking for. They understand that reviewers receive multiple pitches a day and can tell the difference between what is professional and what is not. You could possibly come up with a decent-enough press kit on your own, but you would be missing the warm connection that a PR professional provides. You give your book its best chance when you work with a pro.

While I applaud the do-it-yourself-er, I have an even higher regard for someone that will do what he or she can, but also be smart enough to realize that their own efforts are best served when they connect with professionals in areas where the author is weak.

If you would like information on Bookmasters’ publicity packages, call your Account Executive or 1.800.537.6727. And don’t forget our contest! Best wishes.

Photo: Kai Chan Vong, Creative Commons

Posted in A Publisher's Life, Marketing Tips | Leave a Comment »

Bookmasters to distribute Pearson Mexico’s educational titles in Spanish into the U.S. market

April 24, 2012 by bookmasters12

Bookmasters has entered into a sales and distribution agreement with Pearson Mexico’s publishing arm to distribute their prestigious catalog of educational books for middle and high school age students in the United States and Canada.

“Bookmasters’ POD distribution model allows us to enter the market with minimal investment and risk, and their strong Spanish department gives us a high degree of confidence that we will achieve good penetration for our titles”, said Francisco Tellez, Pearson Mexico’s CFO.

Adds Ernesto Martinez, manager of Spanish language programs at Bookmasters, “Pearson enjoys a stellar reputation as the top publisher in their space. Bookmasters has worked with Pearson USA for years and is proud to add Pearson Mexico to this strong relationship.”

Pearson’s titles in Spanish will be available through major U.S. retailers and wholesalers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Ingram, and Baker & Taylor.

Pearson, based in New York, New York, is the world’s leading education company, providing educational materials, technologies, assessments and related services to teachers and students of all ages. With more than 150 years of experience, Pearson’s educational resource, technology and assessment services, support learning in more than 75 countries and over 100 languages.

Bookmasters, based in Ashland, Ohio, is one of the largest integrated providers of editorial and design, eBook conversion, printing, printed book and eBook distribution, and marketing services for publishers and authors. The organization has remained a publishing industry leader for more than 40 years.

Posted in Department News | Leave a Comment »

Last Call for 2012 BEA

April 17, 2012 by bookmasters12

BookExpo AmericaBEA 3-Day Badge purchase - $129

Purchase both for $795!*

A limited number of BEA Bundle spots are still available

For more information regarding this offer please
contact your Account Executive at 1.800.537.6727

*Note Pricing includes 4% cash discount. Discount not available for other forms of payment. 

Bookmasters - Compose | Create | Connect

Posted in Special Promotions | Leave a Comment »

How to Get Reviews in Your Niche: A Guest Post by Helen Bradley Hall

April 17, 2012 by bookmasters12

Enjoy our first guest blog entrant for our April contest. We are asking fans to submit a guest blog about how to get reviews in your niche. You could win a free press kit and submission to trade reviewers. Its’s not too late to submit your post! Find out more by clicking on the contests tab. 

Once a book has been published, getting reviews in your niche can be a daunting task. There are several avenues that can be taken to receive reviews and to get reviewers in your niche. With the help of technology locating the reviewers has been made a tad easier to accomplish. The hard part is getting the reviewer to review your title. Shelfari, a program through Amazon is a great way to gain reviews for your title. Shelfari allows the author to develop friends and share books off their book shelves with their Shelfari associates. Some reviewers that are big readers offer free reviews. Yes, they are difficult to find but they are out there and the author has the task of locating the free reviewers.

Having free book giveaways through networking sites helps obtain reviews and possiblly gain a following of readers if they enjoyed the title that was submitted to them through a promotional giveaway. Posting your book excerpt on media networking sites also help draw attention to your title that could lead to sales and reviews. Offering downloads of your title on Kindle for a number days can also help gain a massive amount of reviews for your title. Also, submitting your book to book clubs that are accepting titles can help to develop a strong niche of reviewers for the book titles. Last but not least, applying for book awards can also enhance a review niche, because if your title is the award winning title, your will boost attention to the book and the reviews will flow. Although some of the awards cost money there are some that are free and low cost. Getting reviews can be accomplished through hard work, perseverance, and determination.

My fourth book, titled Babyrobbers, based on a true story that I have independently published was just released this month. What helps me to promote and gain a niche of reviewers is my website, where readers and followers can join my site for free and get the latest promotions and purchase my book titles from my web store. I am waiting for those individuals who have already purchased the book to review my title on Amazon and any other site they are members of that sale the book title. The book can be viewed on my independent publishing company site.

To learn more about my book Babyrobbers click here, and check out my authors central page and videos.

Helen Bradley Hall had a near death experience that began her career as an author. A divorced single mother of 3, in 1996, Helen spent countless days and nights in the library researching the publishing world.

In 2003, Helen wrote and published her book and began Bradley’s publishing company. Helen has written and published three books through her independent publishing house located in Garden City, MI. Helen has written and published books titled, The World of Poetry for Every Parents Bedroom, The Battle Within, and her third book Chocolate Mama, with many other titles to come.

Helen has since remarried, and is now a mother of 4 with an Associates degree in criminal justice, and is currently working on her Bachelor’s degree in forensic science. Helen at this present time is working on her fifth book, titled They Say She Broke the Rule, based on a true story.

Posted in A Publisher's Life, Guest Blogs, Marketing Tips | Leave a Comment »

Link Roundup for London Book Fair

April 17, 2012 by bookmasters12

Unable to make it to London Book Fair? Here’s what you’ve missed so far, Tarzan continues to save companies, the upstarts and independents are on the uprising, and a lobster? Check out these great articles and some others that I have posted here for you in the LBF Link Roundup!

London Book Fair 2012: LBF Kicks Off with Digital Minds Conference

London Book Fair 2012 The Great Debate: Will Publishers Perish?

London Book Fair 2012: Big Authors Return, Another Swedish Trilogy, Buzzy Debuts

London Book Fair 2012: Foundry Splits One Story into Two Books, Two Deals

Telly stars snapped up as LBF begins

And just for fun: Trying the Lobster at the London Book Fair. Very fresh indeed. 

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New Bookmasters.com

April 17, 2012 by bookmasters12

Bookmasters, Inc., announces the launch of the new Bookmasters.com website. The new site provides a more user-friendly navigation and updated content regarding the company’s broad spectrum of services for publishers and authors. In addition, Bookmasters’ new brand identity is incorporated into the new website design along with a sleek logo and tag line: Compose. Create. Connect.

“Over the past year, we have conducted a full brand audit to bring our company’s 40 years of tradition and experience into a new light,” said David Wurster, CEO of Bookmasters. “By conducting focus groups with our valued publishing clients, we confirmed what information publishers and authors expect to find when researching industry service providers. We listened and incorporated their suggestions into our new website design.”

One of the major changes on the new Bookmasters.com website is the clear separation of service offerings as they relate to publishers and authors. “We recognize the fact that our publisher clients and our self-published authors have different service needs. With the new website structure, we address each client accordingly by providing them with pertinent service information,” said Wurster.

While browsing the new website, publishers will learn about the ways to partner up with Bookmasters for any of their publishing needs: from editorial and design, to book printing and eBook conversion, to fulfillment, marketing, global distribution, and POD services. In addition, the new website contains a dedicated section to the company’s fast-growing Spanish services division.

For self-published authors, aside from its long-standing offerings of customized a la carte services, Bookmasters is now introducing effective, pre-packaged options ranging from $499 to $1,599.

All visitors are invited to browse the new website, Bookmasters.com, and provide comments and suggestions regarding the site’s content, navigation, and visual appeal by completing a feedback form or emailing marketing@bookmasters.com.

Bookmasters, based in Ashland, Ohio, is one of the largest integrated providers of editorial and design, eBook conversion, printing, printed book and eBook distribution, and marketing services for publishers and authors. The organization has remained a publishing industry leader for more than 40 years.

Posted in General | Leave a Comment »

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