While some of those things do happen and we usually have a pretty great time, BEA is a lot of work and expense. Of course part of our BEA strategy is our own self-interest; to strengthen brand reach, catch up with publishing partners, and court potential customers. And, I guess if you are one of those potential customers, this is also your benefit that you can set up a meeting with our folks at the show.

But if you are already working with Bookmasters, it still is to your benefit, and it should still matter to you that we attend the show. By attending, we do the important work of a hands-on look at what is going on at the most important trade gathering in the United States. We are on the floor hearing what the buzz is all about, attending the informational events to keep up with the changing industry, and networking with key accounts and vendors.

Maybe you are one of those folks that aren’t working with us, and you don’t really have a plan to work with us. Let me take a moment just to ask you to check out all the different things we do as a company. You will likely find that we can help you with your publishing project. And in the spirit of this topic, we are at BEA for you, too. As a company, we work to observe publishing trends and anticipate your needs. This show goes a long way in helping us accomplish those goals.

Last week we did a blog post on our parent blog on how you can simplify to maximize. The context of that post was to rethink your book marketing copy. But the simplify concept works in many ways, and we have recently applied it to our website and blogs.

If you haven’t yet, I invite you to explore our recently updated website at Bookmasters.com. We’ve made a lot of changes to jazz it up and make it easier for you to navigate to find how we can help you with your needs.

Along with the website change, we’ve also decided to simplify our two blogs into one, the Bookmasters blog. If you have been following our AtlasBooks blog, take comfort knowing that we migrated all of our archived content to the Bookmasters blog. All new posts going forward will appear on our Bookmasters blog. Make sure to sign up for notifications in the right sidebar of the Bookmasters blog if you haven’t already!

The show started out as the American Booksellers Association (ABA) convention. Back then, there were no exhibitors or publishers at the show. Now the show is driven by the exhibit floor and educational sessions, panels, and lectures.

The BEA draws more than 26,000 attendees, media, and trade professionals annually. Concurrent events include the following:

ABA Day of Education
IDPF Digital Book
Publishers Launch Conference
BlogWorld & New Media Expo NY
BEA Bloggers Conference
uPublishU at BEA
New York Book & Media Week

This year the show will run from June 5-7 at the Javits Center in New York City. Check back to our blog in the next few weeks for more information about the show and how it this important gathering of industry professionals effects you.

And if you will be at the show, plan on stopping by the Bookmasters exhibit at booth 3052.

Book Expo America, or BEA, is the premier publishing event in North America where the book tradition converges with the digital revolution. Each year thousands of book people gather to see what’s new, discuss what’s been working, and speculate about the future. This year the show is held June 5-7.

But for every person that attends the show, there are many that could benefit but don’t get to go. If you are one of those that don’t get to go, here are some ways you can still reap the benefits of the show.

1. Have a proxy

Yes, there is a lot of “noise” at BEA. You might even call it information overload. You may look at the number of exhibitors or see pictures of walls of books and wonder how your book can have any impact at such a venue. But don’t underestimate the value of physical presence.

Especially since so much of what anyone does anymore is done virtually, the impact of an actual physical presence where thousands of book loving professions congregates can have a good marketing impact. Even if you can’t be there, your book can.

Check out Bookmasters’ Think ForeWord BEA Bundle for ways you can have your book represented at the show.

2. Follow on Twitter

Use the #bookexpo hashtag to follow the BEA conversation. You will likely find a lot of observations from the different BEA scheduled events. And though #bookexpo is the official show hashtag, you may also want to follow #BEA.

3. Watch live feeds

For the first time, BEA will offer live streaming of many of its major events including Book & Author Breakfasts, Buzz Panels, and a majority of programming from the main Author State. The live stream will also feature the ability for a live chat as events are happening. BEA show director Steve Rosato says that they “are also planning to take questions from our virtual attendees for the authors.”

4. Follow industry news those days and following

For one, be sure to check in on our blog, Facebook, and Twitter feeds for updated links and information from the show. You can also follow these major industry news outlets to get daily and event summaries from the show:

Publishers Weekly
Shelf Awareness
BEA Media and News

5. Appreciate what is done on behalf of all book lovers at this important show

A lot of deals go down at the show. This is good for people that like books. Though there is more self-publishing going on now than ever, a lot of quality authors still go through traditional publishers, and a lot of the groundwork for these types of deals happens at the show.

Also, BEA is a place were lots of great publishing minds meet to talk and make plans for the future of publishing. You can’t beat these in-person meeting for the shaping of the publishing business.

So even if you can’t make it out June 5-7 for the show, I hope you will use these tips to make the best of this nation’s largest book tradeshow.

Plan ahead and set deadlines for yourself. Your goal could be two chapters a week, a certain word limit, or whatever you think would work for you. Also remember to set goals for building your platform. Ask yourself several questions, “is this a realistic deadline for the amount of work,” “what will this require me to do,” “how much research is needed” and so on. Once you have decided that the time allotted compliments the work load, start planning your work schedule. For best and quality work, split your time up.

So that means to prioritize! Decide which is most important by your due date and the amount of work you have to put into it. Obviously the projects that are due soonest, they are at the top. Following the due date priority, decide which one will require the most work, whether that is researching, interviewing, drafting, or connecting with potential audiences through social media. Figure out what should be at the top of your list and follow that by what doesn’t need as much time or effort and so on.

Once your list of priorities has been made, determine how much time you need for each listed goal. Remember to account for daily things like coffee, lunch and bathroom breaks, phone calls, and meetings. Then account for weekly things like doctor appointments, soccer games, and so on. Give each goal some wiggle room, it is better to overestimate your time then to be stuck rushing and digging yourself out of a hole.

In order to knock out your to-do list, avoid disturbances. Schedule time to check and respond to emails, answer calls and have meetings and, as with your projects, add some wiggle room for any unexpected occurrences. Here comes the not so fun part; get offline and stay offline. No checking your Facebook, personal email, or playing games. Facebook is an amazing time-waster and a wonderful way to get really behind in your work. So stay offline and save it for after your to-do list is knocked out.

There is a time and a place to be a ‘yes’ man/woman, especially for writers. There are always things to do like editing for the tenth time or brainstorming a project that someone needs you to do. Don’t be afraid to say no once in a while. Treat your self-imposed deadlines as if they came from someone really important, because they do…they come from you. Inform the person that you are under a deadline and that you would be happy to help once you have finished your needs. In most cases, they will understand and will be able to hold off and wait for your expertise.

Time managing for writers is all about prioritizing and organizing your day to fit your goals. Avoid anything that will interfere with your flow and keep that nose to the grind. If you follow these tips you will be completed before you know it!

Kate Croston is a freelance writer and holds a bachelors degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. She writes guest posts for different sites and loves contributing home internet service related topics. Questions or comments can be sent to:  katecroston.croston09 @ gmail.com.

Photo: JuliaRosien, Creative Commons

A limited number of spots are available
$595*

Valid through 4/27/2012

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

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

I figure there might be a lot of you who wonder the same thing. Maybe you book wouldn’t fit into local history, but you wonder how to get a local store to carry your book and maybe even put it in a local section.

First it is important to note that national chains operate differently than small regional chains or independent stores. I’ll address how the chains operate first.

Once a book is in the chain’s system (the primary goal of distribution), it can be ordered into any store. But for most stores to actually stock the book on their shelves, a head buyer at their national headquarters has to make that decision. Buyers generally buy according to topic, but they also have regional buyers for local interest books.

National buyers typically make this decision pre-publication. For them to act on something once a book is past its publication date, they will want to see some pretty convincing sales data or a pretty major current event hook (could be something on the book’s subject or something major going on with the author).

You can also try to arrange a book signing with the store’s event manager. The store will then bring in stock for the signing, and if the book sells well, they may keep it on their shelves.

Independent stores have a little more leeway in terms of what they stock and when they decide to carry it, but they are still very cautious about their retail space. You may want to try to approach the store’s manager directly about carrying your book.

You should do this respectfully and come prepared to explain why the book would be a good sell for their store. “It’s a great book!” is not a good enough reason. Again, you could mention something going on relevant to the book’s topic, or tell them about an event you are doing to promote the book and that you will be referring people to their store to purchase copies.

Also, you should try to make it a habit to start shopping at the store. I’ve heard different independent store owners lament that authors will come to their store trying to push their books into the stores, and somehow slip in that they do most of their book buying online. This doesn’t give the store much incentive to support you.

The best way to get your book on any shelf is to create the demand to get it there. If a store notices that lots of people are coming in looking for the book, they will carry it. Sales talk.

Photo: Juhansonin, Creative Commons

Available for a limited time only
$1,595*

Valid through 4/20/2012

For more information regarding this comprehensive strategy
please contact your Account Executive at 1.800.537.672

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

Running the contest brings up a good question. What are the elements that make a cover a good cover? I know that for the contest, a lot of votes probably come from friends of the contestants (and that’s not a bad thing, see the post Using Our Contest to Your Advantage). But of course, that’s not the only thing.

Here are a few quick things that distinguish a good cover:

Eye-catching art
Readable text
Good color combinations
Good title
Fits certain expectations within its genre
But doesn’t look exactly like everything else…it stands out

There are also elements that make a book stand out as having a terrible cover (check out this post covering that topic: Can’t Judge a Book By Its Cover?

Though some of these covers are good for a laugh, they point out the importance of taking the time, and yes, spending the money, to have a great cover. You don’t want to lose sales all because you lost the customer when they saw your cover.

What do you think makes a cover a good cover?

Photo: Cliff1066, Creative Commons

For more information regarding this opportunity,
please contact your Account Executive at 1.888.537.6727