1. Custom Press Release

The Custom Press Release combines information solicited from the author with the expertise of our writers. The result — a professional release that is focused on showcasing your book.

Your Custom Press Release will be:

• electronically distributed to a database of approximately 100,000 media contacts, newsrooms, industry analysts, and freelance writers who receive daily email listings of press releases which match their filter criteria
• posted to syndicated news feeds on other web sites through our XML/RSS news feed
• optimized for search engine placement

2. PR Publicist Campaign

With the PR Publicist Campaign, a publicist will further distribute your Custom Press Release. We will e-mail it directly to book reviewers and editors in print, radio, television, trades, E-zines, syndicates, and wires — locally, regionally, and nationwide. This additional distribution circuit consists of over 21,000 national media contacts.

Then, we send you every resulting media lead. Usually those leads will come in the form of a book review or interview request. You will also receive a sample cover letter to use when following up on each lead.

3. 60 Second Book Video Trailer and Digital Viral Distribution

Movie trailers (commonly called “previews”) are shown at the beginning of movies. They let you take a sneak peek into an upcoming film. What if you could promote your book the same way? Well, you can. Our Book Video Trailers allow you to engage your audience’s eyes AND ears. Each trailer includes:

• Music — you provide your own or we choose a piece from our collection.
• Text — we briefly describe your book
• Images — you provide your own or we choose from our database of over 1 million images
• Distribution — YouTube, MetaCafe, Vimeo, etc.

BONUS: Your video will also be embedded into your Outskirts Press author webpage for you.

Press play to see a sample of a recent book video trailer:

4. Book Review Submission

We have identified 10 book reviewers who have all demonstrated a tendency to review alternatively-published and self-published books. When you purchase our Book Review Submission Service, we will submit your book to these reviewers (or 10 others of your choosing) for you. Included in the submission to these reviewers is everything they typically require to consider writing a review, such as:

• a professional cover letter
• a professional press release
• your sales sheet
• a complimentary copy of your book for the reviewer to consider and keep

Positive reviews on popular websites and blogs or within popular journals can improve sales and lead to positive word-of-mouth, which is a precursor to the viral publicity and “buzz” that all authors dream of.

5. Personal Marketing Assistant

What’s a busy author to do to stay on top of follow-up that may result from a viral video, an amazing review, and/or a potential flurry of interview requests from a publicist campaign? Sit back and relax while their Personal Marketing Assistant follows through on these things for them.

Upon purchase, you will be entitled to a 5 hour block of one-on-one assistance. That block includes an initial 30 minute phone consultation. Here are just some of the many things your Personal Marketing Assistant can help you with:

• PR Publicist Campaign lead follow-up
• Suggesting advertising venues for your book and placing ads for you
• Calling bookstores in your area to pitch your book and/or arrange book signings
• Other book marketing tasks as needed

Is it time to get published and receive marketing support and services like this?

Mar 1 – If you do not have enough author’s copies on hand, contact your publisher and order more so they arrive in enough time to pursue these other tips throughout the month. For Outskirts Press authors, here’s a direct link to your book ordering page where you can receive free domestic shipping via UPS Ground within the continental United States  if you order 50 or more copies before Saturday, March 5th, 2011. No promotion code needed!

Mar 2 – Contact other independent published authors in your area (through local associations you may belong to) and combine your resources to fully exploit the opportunities during this month. There’s a lot to do, and four hands are better than two. With the advent of social networking sites, this is easier than ever. In fact your publisher may already have a group on such sites as MySpace or FaceBook or a following on Twitter to help you connect with other writers. Here is the Outskirts Press Facebook community.

Mar 3 – Contact your local bookstores and suggest they offer discounts on Small Press books this month (since March is Small Press Month). Bring in yours and offer it to them at a discount to get them started. Show them the rest of this calendar as a way of indicating your commitment to making their event successful. Offer to leave a free copy with them along with a sales sheet. Here’s a link to the ABA Bookseller directory.

Mar 4 – Make a 60 second book video trailer and distribute it to video and social networking sites like YouTube and Facebook. Don’t know the first thing about how you would do that? Outskirts Press can do it for you, affordably and professionally – just click here.

Here’s a sample:

Mar 5 – Send a press release to the local media (newspapers, radio, television) mentioning Small Press Month and your independently published book. If you secured some events, mention them in the release. Don’t yet have a press release? Outskirts Press can compose and distribute a custom press release on your behalf.

Mar 6 – Follow-up on your press release from yesterday with the local media via telephone. Reiterate Small Press Month, your planned events in the community, and your Small Press book. Send them a review of your book that they can use as a foundation. (Less work for them). Outskirts Press can perform a PR Publicist Campaign for your custom press release which includes additional distribution, phone-call follow-up, and more.

Mar 7 – If you haven’t yet published your book, today is the day to start. Outskirts Press, the fastest-growing full service self-publishing and book marketing service is offering an instant 10% discount on their 3 best publishing services. Click here for the necessary promotion code and promotion dates.  Then listen to an audio recording from a recent author, Joanne Bodin, author of Walking Fish.

Mar 8 – Contact your local libraries and suggest they feature Small Press titles, including yours. Offer to leave a free copy with them, along with a sales sheet. If you’re an Outskirts Press author, you can generate a sales sheet automatically in your Publishing Center here. You can even change it and update it first through your Author Toolkit by modifying and updating your author webpage.

Mar 9 – If you haven’t yet sent out review copies for book, now is the time. For published Outskirts Press authors, your Book Review Starter Kit has many book reviewers listed, and you also have the option of the Book Review Submission service.

Mar 10 – Contact local schools in your area and tell them about Small Press Month. Mention that you are a local published author and offer to speak to their assembly about the topic of your book; or, even, on how to accomplish their dreams of being published. This is particularly effective if you have a children’s book you can then sell after the assembly. Plus, you can earn affiliate commissions by recommending our full-color Pearl publishing package. In addition to cookbooks or art books, the Pearl package is perfect for children’s books (since over 30 different artistic illustration packages are available – click here to view them).

Watch the Pearl Package video…

Mar 11 – Contact local universities and colleges. Same concept as yesterday — promote yourself and your book by sharing your knowledge of how to write a book and get it published. Sell copies of your book in the back of the room, and earn 10% referral commissions by referring other authors to our Publishing Services.

Mar 12 – Schedule a seminar or tele-seminar on “How to Write and Publish a Book” and offer a “Small Press Month” discount on the registration fee. Send out a local news release about your class. GoToMeeting.com offers a free 30 day trial to create your own webinar. Give it a try!

Mar 13 – March 13th will be lucky for you when you hire a professional marketing assistant to help you complete these 31 ideas (along with other marketing tactics you may not even know about). 5 hours of personal marketing assistance is available by clicking here.

Mar 14 – Some authors put themselves into their books. Now you can do it literally, by ordering a custom t-shirt featuring your book cover on the front and back. It’s available no matter where you published. Click here to order.

Mar 15 – Advertising independently can be expensive. A single full-page ad in the New York Times costs over $40,000! But, thankfully, Outskirts Press offers its family of published authors co-op advertising opportunities in ForeWord Reviews, Spirituality & Health, New York Review of Books, and soon (you heard it here first), Publisher’s Weekly.

Mar 16 – Contact all the local radio producers in your area and pitch them on Small Press Month. The Radio Locator website makes it easy to find a radio station’s contact information.

Mar 17 – Think St. Patrick’s Day thoughts and then “go green” by making sure you have published your book with a book publisher like Outskirts Press, who offers 30% post-consumer recycled materials in the most popular paper choices.

Mar 18 – Make sure you have an Amazon Kindle edition of your book. One of our most popular services for OP authors, as well as authors published elsewhere, is our Amazon Kindle option, available by clicking here.

Mar 19 – According to Amazon, books that participate in their Search Inside the Book feature sell many more copies than those that don’t, so be sure YOUR book is a part of “Search Inside.” Outskirts Press offers Search Inside Submissions for authors published with Outskirts Press and elsewhere. Order by clicking here.

Mar 20 – This may be the month to switch publishers if you have published elsewhere. Look at the publisher you chose and ask yourself: Is your retail price too high? Is your profit too low? Is your author’s copy price too high? Are your marketing options too costly? (Read this 2009 blog posting about one of our options that costs $99 for our authors and costs over one THOUSAND dollars through one of our competitors). Compare and save potentially thousands of dollars.

Mar 21 – Small Press Month is just one month out of 12. Prepare for other months by showcasing your book at international book fairs like the London Book Fair, Book Expo of America, Beijing, and Frankfurt. Or make it easy on yourself with the Global Book Tour marketing package: 4 events in 4 countries in 4 months.

Mar 22 – Get your book reviewed by Amazon reviewers. You can find a list of the most popular and prolific Amazon reviewers by clicking here.

Mar 23 – Contact the Learning Annex (or similarly themed Adult Education Program) in your area and offer to teach a class on the subject of your book. As a published author, you are qualified to teach on your subject since you are an expert. Your book may even be required reading for each student! Cha-ching! If you’re published through Outskirts Press, send them to our bookstore so they receive a 10% discount off other online retailers (and you still earn your full 100% profit royalty). Cha-ching, again!

Mar 24 – Create a social networking account on Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace, and LinkedIn. Follow us on Twitter for book marketing suggestions and news in 140 characters or less.

Mar 25 – Contact the public libraries in each state and mention your involvement with Small Press Month. Send them information about your book. Here’s a link that will get you started: http://www.publiclibraries.com/

Mar 26 – Start preparing for April (National Poetry Month), especially if you have a book of poetry.  We publish high-quality, award-winning volumes of poetry all the time.  In fact, Outskirts Press authors swept the Poetry Category in the 2009 Reader’s Views Literary Awards. See how we do this year when all the finalists are announced on this blog tomorrow.

Mar 27 – Help other writers you know get published and earn a 10% commission for the referral after their book is published. Register for the exciting Outskirts Press affiliate program by clicking here. 

Mar 28 – Start a blog and keep it active and up-to-date. Register it with blog directories so others start reading it and participating. There are many blog programs to help you get started. Conduct a search on Google for the one that works for you. We use WordPress.

Mar 29 – Submit your published book to the Google Base listings. It’s free. http://base.google.com

Mar 30 – Publish a “Large Print” edition of your book. With the world’s demographics growing older, “large print” editions are becoming more and more popular. Featuring 14 or 16 point fonts, these editions appeal to the aging community because they are easier to read. You’ve already written the book, now re-publish a new “Large Print” edition to increase your revenue and double the effectiveness of your marketing initiatives. It’s easy to get published here.

Mar 31 – Relax! It’s been a busy, productive month. Fortunately, Outskirts Press makes publishing and marketing a book easy. Check out our most popular Diamond publishing service by kicking-back and watching the video below:

Diamond Book Publishing

Introducing the Global Book Tour,
available exclusively for select
Outskirts Press authors.

Save 25% off a la carte pricing.
(That’s like getting one whole book event for free!)

We will take your book on a book fair tour around the world!

4 Different Countries
4 International Book Events
4 Months Throughout the Year

Outskirts Press published authors who are interested in the Global Book Tour can find further details and ordering information in the Author’s Center.

Is it time to get published and start receiving marketing services like this?

The Amazon Extreme Package is available for all authors, regardless of where their book was published

Save 25% on 3 amazing marketing tactics centered around Amazon.com

(plus receive a free copy of the bestselling book Sell Your Book on Amazon)

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1. Add a Kindle edition of your book to Amazon’s Kindle Store.

The Amazon Kindle is a revolutionary wireless reading device that allows its owner to instantly download books and newspapers. Only books that have been submitted to the Amazon Kindle via the required process and in the required format are available for Kindle readers to purchase and enjoy. Kindle editions of books appear on Amazon and in Amazon search listings just like any other format (such as a hardback edition).

There are several benefits to having your book available on Amazon Kindle.

1. The Amazon Kindle edition will appear in the search results, along with any other formats of your book (such as your paperback and/or hardback editions). This results in an increase of exposure for your book’s cover, which increases the chances of browsers clicking on your cover image, and coming that much closer to becoming a buyer.

2. Sales through the Amazon Kindle are not split with Outskirts Press. Just like with our hardcopy paperback and hardback books, we pay 100% author profits, and sales through the Kindle are ALL profit.

Of course, Amazon will still take their share, as they always do, but your profit will be directly deposited into your checking account by Amazon, without any involvement by (or portion for) Outskirts Press. In other words, your Kindle sales are YOUR Kindle sales.

3. Amazon customers and readers are growing every day. While the Kindle is a unique and revolutionary device designed to make reading more convenient, the majority of Amazon customers love actual BOOKS. A Kindle sale is an inexpensive way to offer your book to a potential reader; if they like it, they are more likely to purchase the paperback or hardback edition, too.

4. While all books are ideal for the Kindle, Kindle readers LOVE fiction.  If you are a fiction author looking for a way to “level the marketing playing field” with non-fiction, the Kindle is the answer!  There have been weeks and months in a row when the bestselling Outskirts Press books on Amazon have been Kindle editions of fiction books!

Here’s how the process works:

1. Order the Amazon Kindle edition now by adding it to your shopping cart.  This can be purchased a-la-carte or with the Amazon Extreme package.
2. Our Marketing Department will contact you via email and send you the necessary submission form.  Since your Kindle sales are directly deposited to your bank by Amazon, providing Amazon with the means to make that deposit is a requirement of submission.
3. Once you have completed that form, send it back to us.
4. That’s it! We’ll take care of the rest. Typically within 4 weeks, your Kindle edition will be online through Amazon.

How does pricing and commission work?

Option 1: Amazon pays 35% and the Kindle price can be whatever you want

Option 2: Amazon pays 70% but the Kindle price must be set between $2.99 and $9.99; and you must live in the United States

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2. Add your book to Amazon Search Inside the Book

Do you feel that your book (which is available either exclusively or primarily online) isn’t reaching your target audience? Have you ever heard anyone say that it’s hard to make the decision to buy a book without taking a sneak peek and thumbing through the pages? Do you wonder why some books sell very well online while yours doesn’t? Well, Outskirts Press has the perfect solution!

Our Amazon Search Inside the Book marketing option (available to order a-la-carte or with the Amazon Extreme package) will allow you to take advantage of Amazon’s online equivalent to browsing a bookstore. Books that participate in this program feature a “Look Inside” icon over their Amazon cover image, which invites potential customers to electronically “flip” through a small section of the book. This increases the level of confidence a customer has in your book – most likely leading up to a higher volume of book sales. According to Amazon, books participating in this program enjoy significant sales improvement, on average, over books that do not.

When you participate in the Amazon Search Inside the Book program, Amazon digitally catalogs the text of your book – which may result in more accurate and targeted search results and recommendations. Ultimately, the more buyers who are exposed to your book, the greater the likelihood that you will sell more copies. Can you imagine the success you’ll have?

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3. Add tags and your top 10 keywords to Amazon’s search engine

The optional Amazon Keyword Search Submission service can help your book appear higher in the Amazon search rankings for applicable keywords.

Customers who browse for new books on Amazon typically do not search by title or author. They search by keywords or phrases: subject-specific words that describe their interest. One goal in book marketing is to do whatever is possible to improve a book’s search results ranking for applicable keywords so that your book appears higher in the search results on Amazon.

The Amazon Keyword Submission option can help. Participating books are “tagged” with applicable terms and keywords. This encourages other visitors to your page to “tag” your book with the same keywords and phrases, which can give more “weight” to those terms in Amazon’s search results.

This option is available to order a-la-carte or with the Amazon Extreme package.

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FREE BONUS:

Receive a free paperback copy of SELL YOUR BOOK ON AMAZON, Outskirts Press CEO Brent Sampson’s bestselling book, featuring top-secret tips guaranteed to increase your Amazon sales. The steps and tactics outlined in this book are the very same marketing efforts Sampson follows for his own book.

Among the tactics and steps suggested in the book are: participating in the Search Inside Program and adding keyword search submissions. You will notice that both of these steps are already included with this purchase of the Amazon Extreme Marketing package.

But there is so much more, like Listmania, Amazon Guides, Amapedia, Amazon Blogs, AmazonConnect, and much more. If you are not already proficient in Amazon listing enhancement, this book is a must-buy. And it’s free with the Amazon Extreme package.

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Ready to start marketing your book with Outskirts Press?

 1000 Bookmarks 

• Your cover image is on the front in full cover
• Your book synopsis and webpage URL is on the back in black/white
• 2″ x 6″ laminated stock
• You see and approve a digital proof before printing

• Your cover image is on the front in full cover
• Your contact information is on the back in black/white
• 2″ x 3.5″ laminated stock
• You see and approve a digital proof before printing

• Your cover image is on the front in full cover
• Your book synopsis and webpage URL is on the back in black/white
• 4″ x 6″ laminated stock
• You see and approve a digital proof before printing

• Your cover image is on the front of the card in full-color
• A formal announcement regarding the publication of your book is on
  the inside of the card
• 4.25″ x 6″ (when folded) premium 14pt gloss cover stock
• Included white envelopes
• Pre-scored for easy folding
• You see and approve a digital proof before printing

• 11″ x 17″ full color poster
• Your cover image is on the front in full-color, full bleed
• The back is blank

With the Promotional Materials Package, Outskirts Press authors save 25% on over 2,200 branded marketing pieces.  **Bonus: free shipping within the continental United States **

Ready to start publishing? 

Introducing the Global Book Tour,
available exclusively for select
Outskirts Press authors.

Save 25% off a la carte pricing.
(That’s like getting a whole book event for free!)

We will take your book on a book fair tour around the world!

4 Different Countries
4 International Book Events
4 Months Throughout the Year

Outskirts Press published authors who are interested in the Global Book Tour can find further details and ordering information in the Author’s Center.

Is it time to get published and start receiving marketing services like this?

Registration deadlines for the winter season book awards are fast approaching:

Reader Views Literary Awards – November 12th, 2009
Benjamin Franklin Awards – November 30th, 2009
ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Award – December 17th, 2009

Outskirts Press published authors can purchase any of these a-la-carte award submission options or select the package and save 25% on all 6 award contests throughout the year.  Enjoy maximum convenience by allowing us to submit your book to 6 recognized, vetted, and legitimate book award contests, some of which offer major cash and prizes (Writer’s Digest and Foreword) and all of which offer the chance  for extra exposure, recognition, and the chance to claim “award-winning” during your marketing efforts.  Click here for more information about the Book Award Submissions Package.

It used to be that simply having a published book was indicative of supremely high quality, but now that self-publishing is available for everyone, winning a book award is one of the most powerful and effective ways you can make your book stand above the crowd. With so many book awards and contests available, Outskirts Press has pre-screened and vetted 6 contests. Outskirts Press can facilitate the submission details to all these contests for you. With your purchase of this package and your eligible book, we will handle all the details, including

• the award submission fee
• registering your book with the contest
• sending them each the necessary review copies of your book
• accurately and completely filling out the necessary entry forms
• selecting the most appropriate category for your book (if we’re not sure, we’ll ask you)
• shipping and handling costs of your book to each of the contest’s multiple judges

Ready to get published so you can have an award-winning book?

As publications like The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal legitimize self-publishing, authors are still left with the burden of marketing a book after publication. New book marketing packages like those offered by one of the leading self-publishers, Outskirts Press, can help authors with their promotional efforts.

5 New Book Marketing Packages Answer Self Publishing Authors Needs

Outskirts Press, the fastest-growing full-service self-publishing and book marketing company today introduced five new, inclusive book marketing packages to its growing family of over 4,000 authors. Each package combines a select number of a la carte marketing products and services with a specific focus at a 25% savings.

“Authors are discovering how fast and easy self-publishing a book has become,” Outskirts Press Director of Author Support Kelly Schuknecht states.  “However, book marketing continues to be a hurdle.  Not so for Outskirts Press authors.  Once published, we share ‘The 7 Tactics of Successfully Published Authors’ with our writers. And now our new book marketing packages help our authors fulfill these tactics quickly and easily.”

One tactic is “Enhancing Your Online Presence,” which is supported by the new Amazon Extreme Marketing Package.  This package combines a Kindle edition of the book with Search Inside the Book and keyword search submissions.

Another tactic is “Announcing Your Publication,” which is supported by the new Book Blast Marketing Package. This package combines a custom press release with the services of both a PR Publicist (to professionally distribute the custom release), and 5 hours of personal marketing assistance with a marketing professional. The book is also submitted to ten reviewers who commonly review self-published books. Lastly, a 60-second book video trailer is produced and then distributed to social networking and video sites like YouTube, MySpace, and many others.

Rounding out the new packages are the Promotional Materials Package (delivering to the author 2,275 branded marketing materials like bookmarks, postcards, business cards, and more); the Global Book Tour Package (showcasing the book at 4 different book events in 4 different countries); and the Book Award Submission Package (entering the book into 6 renown book awards including Writer’s Digest, Benjamin Franklin, and ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Awards).

“From The New York Times to The Wall Street Journal, self-publishing is recently starting to receive the recognition and kudos it deserves,” Schuknecht continues. “Our new book marketing packages are designed to make book promotion just as easy, fast, and convenient as self-publishing has become, and the only way to experience the ease of book marketing like this is to publish through Outskirts Press.”

To learn more about publishing and marketing with the full-service support of Outskirts Press, authors can visit http://outskirtspress.com/authors.php for a free author’s center without obligation.

About Outskirts Press, Inc.:

Outskirts Press, Inc. offers full-service, custom self-publishing services for authors seeking a cost-effective, fast, and flexible way to publish and distribute their books worldwide while retaining all their rights and full creative control. Available for authors globally at www.outskirtspress.com and located on the outskirts of Denver, Colorado, Outskirts Press represents the future of book publishing, today.

It used to be that simply having a published book was indicative of supremely high quality, but now that self-publishing is available for everyone, winning a book award is one of the most powerful and effective ways you can make your book stand above the crowd. With so many book awards and contests available, Outskirts Press has pre-screened and vetted 6 contests. Outskirts Press can facilitate the submission details to all these contests for you. With your purchase of this package and your eligible book, we will handle all the details, including:

• the award submission fee
• registering your book with the contest
• sending them each the necessary review copies of your book
• accurately and completely filling out the necessary entry forms
• selecting the most appropriate category for your book (if we’re not sure, we’ll ask you)
• shipping and handling costs of your book to each of the contest’s multiple judges

Outskirts Press authors can order any of the following submission options or the Book Award Submissions package at any time conveniently from within their Author’s Center.

The Writer’s Digest International Self-Publishing Book Awards

You could win $3,000 cash and promotion in Writer’s Digest and Publisher’s Weekly!

Outskirts Press is already the sponsor and publisher of Writer’s Digest’s annual Writing Competition Collection, which is one of the most renown short story contests in the country. Now Outskirts Press can help you participate in the Writer’s Digest International Self-Publishing contest for books. You may be eligible to receive your part of over $17,000 in cash and prizes.

We can take care of all the submission details for you, including the completion of the necessary forms, the entry fee, and the required copies of your book. We will select the most appropriate category for submission from among the category choices listed below.

This contest is one of six confirmed and vetted awards Outskirts Press recommends and it available as part of its Spring Season Book Awards Submissions.

THE PRIZES:

• ONE GRAND PRIZE WINNER will be awarded $3,000 cash and promotion in Writer’s Digest and Publishers Weekly. The editors of Writer’s Digest will endorse and submit 10 copies of the Grand Prize-Winning book to major review houses such as The New York Times and The Washington Post. In addition, Book Marketing Works, LLC will provide a one-year membership to the Independent Book Publishers Association, guaranteed acceptance in a special-sales catalog providing national representation through 1800 salespeople selling to non-bookstore markets, guaranteed acceptance by Atlas Books (a top distributor to wholessalers, chains, independents and online retailers), six hours of book shepherding from Poynter Book Shepherd Ellen Reid and guaranteed review in Midwest Book Review.
• 10 FIRST-PLACE WINNERS will receive $1000 cash and promotion in Writer’s Digest. In addition, Book Marketing Works, LLC will provide a guaranteed review in Midwest Book Review, a one-year membership to Book Central Station, the eBook Beyond the Bookstore, a Publishers Weekly book by Brian Jud and a copy of Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers by Shel Horowitz. Plus, all Grand Prize and First Place winners will receive book-jacket seals to promote the award-winning status of their book, promotion on the Writer’s Digest Web site at writersdigest.com, a copy of The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing, 4th Edition by Tom and Marilyn Ross, $100 worth or Writer’s Digest Books and a Notable Award Certificate.
• HONORABLE MENTION WINNERS will receive promotion at www.writersdigest.com, $50 worth of Writer’s Digest Books and a Notable Award Certificate. All other entrants will receive Certificates of Participation, a brief judge’s commentary and a listing with a link on the Writer’s Digest Web site, provided an accurate URL is provided.

Every year USA Book News honors outstanding mainstream and independent books with their National Best Books Award.

WINNERS & FINALISTS IN EACH CATEGORY RECEIVE:

• USA Book News Exposure: A six-month book listing which includes your color book cover, a brief paragraph about your title and a hyperlink to your website. Fantastic coverage for the busy 2010 holiday season! Additional coverage in the USABN E-zine, sent to thousands of book buyers.

• National Media & Industry Exposure : Coverage of results from the USA Book News network of media outlets and industry contacts for exposure to over 500,000+ subscribers. In addition, the USA Book News national media campaign highlighting the winners and finalists runs from October through January.

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The Next Generation Indie Book Awards The Next Generation Indie Book Awards submission service through Outskirts Press is open for English-language books. Double-check your copyright date to ensure eligibility. 

In the past, the top 70 books have been reviewed by New York literary agent Marilyn Allen of Allen O’Shea Literary Agency or one of Ms. Allen’s co-agents for possible representation in areas such as distribution, foreign rights, film rights, and other rights (unless an entrant prefers not to have the book forwarded to an agent). Ms. Allen has over 25 years of sales and marketing experience, including serving as Senior Vice President, Associate Publisher, and Director of Marketing for Harper Collins and directing sales and marketing teams for Simon & Schuster, Penguin Books and Avon Books. Ms. Allen has had the pleasure of working with many best-selling authors including Stephen King, Ken Follett, Barbara Kingsolver, John Gray, Mary Higgins Clark, and many more.

All Finalists and Winners for the 2010 Indie Book Awards are selected and notified in the late spring/early summer.

Awards provided by the Next Generation Indie Book Awards typically are::

• $1,000 Cash Prize and trophy awarded to the best Fiction Book
• $1,000 Cash Prize and trophy awarded to the best Non-Fiction Book
• $500 Cash Prize and trophy awarded to the second best Fiction Book
• $500 Cash Prize and trophy awarded to the second best Non-Fiction Book
• $250 Cash Prize and trophy awarded to the third best Fiction Book
• $250 Cash Prize and trophy awarded to the third best Non-Fiction Book
• $250 Cash Prize and trophy awarded to the Best Cover Design Book entry
• A Gold Medal awarded to the winner of each of the 70 categories
• Finalist Certificates will be awarded to up to 10 finalists in each of the 70 categories

Finalists and Winners will also receive:

• A listing in the 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Catalog which will be distributed to book buyers, media, and others!
• Extra exposure for your book on websites and blogs.
• The opportunity to display Finalist or Winner stickers on your book.

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The Reader Views Literary Awards

How would you like to become eligible to win thousands of dollars in marketing support AND a Literary Award at the same time? The annual Reader Views Literary Awards were established to honor writers who self-published or had their books published alternatively by a self-publishing company. In years past, winners of the Reader Views Literary Award have received $1000s of dollars of expert marketing assistance from renown marketing experts like:

• The Kick-Start Guy
• Herman University
• Pump Up Your Book Promotion
• and others.

Only English language books with an eligible copyright date are eligible.

All initial judging will be done by reviewers from Reader Views. They are experts in their fields as well as avid readers. Consider them your reading audience. Criteria for judging is content/originality, presentation/design, innovation, social relevance, and production quality. Five semi-finalists in each category will be determined by a point system. Final judging will be determined by a jury of judges. Three semi-finalists will be chosen in each fiction and non-fiction category. First and second place winners will be awarded in each category. Third place will receive an honorable mention. Each finalist will receive a certificate. Winners will be announced in the spring.

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Only English language and Spanish language books with an eligible copyright date will be accepted.

The Benjamin Franklin Awards are among the most respected Book Awards in the country. The awards recognize excellence in both editorial and design. The specific genre categories are judged by three industry professionals, coming from the library, bookstore, reviewer, designer, publicity and editorial markets.

All finalists will be notified in the late spring, early summer.

The winners in each category will be announced at the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards presentation during the Publishing University at the Book Expo of America. Finalists will receive a certificate of excellence; winners will receive the Benjamin Franklin Award trophy. All finalists will be displayed during the Publishing University and at the Awards Ceremony and all winners will be displayed in a special booth at Book Expo America. Winners and finalists will also be featured on the IBPA website, among other places.

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Win $1,500 in Cash! 

ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Awards were established to bring increased attention from librarians and booksellers to the literary achievements of independent publishers and their authors. Our awards process is unique because we ask a jury of our readers, librarians and booksellers, to select their top categories as well as choose the winning titles. Their decisions take into consideration editorial excellence, professional production, originality of the narrative, author credentials relative to the book and the value the book adds to its genre.

All finalists and winners will be notified via email. Finalists are announced by April 2010. Winners in each category and overall for fiction and non-fiction will be announced at the Book Expo of America. First, second, and third place winners will be awarded in each category. A $1,500 cash prize will also be awarded to Best Fiction and Best Nonfiction as determined by the editors of ForeWord Magazine. ForeWord Magazine reserves the right to withhold an award in any category should submissions not meet criteria outlined by editorial and professional production standards mentioned above. All cash prizes are solely at the discretion of ForeWord Magazine.

Winners and finalists will also be featured in ForeWord Magazine and elsewhere.

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