by: Tony Eldridge
source: http://blog.marketingtipsforauthors.com/2009/12/4-tips-on-making-your-book-available-to.html

Book clubs are wonderful reader organizations that get together, usually once a month, to discuss a book that every member has read. The discussion is usually deeper than the kind you would find two friends having over a latte.

For fiction, members may discuss what role setting plays in the story, themes that run through the book, how characters evolve through the story or maybe what societal challenges presented themselves in the story.

For nonfiction, the members may discuss questions about how the information was presented: was is biased or fair, did the author adequately present the information in the book or were there unanswered questions, did the book change the readers opinion on the book’s subject.

As an author, there are few opportunities better than getting your book before a book club. Not only will members of the club read the book, but they are usually great “word-of-mouth” marketers for books they enjoy. Here are some tips at making your book “club friendly.”

• Prepare a list of discussion questions- By preparing a list of discussion questions and posting them on your website, you can help spark interest in your book while providing a resource specifically tailored to clubs.
• Offer to hold a Q&A for the club- What a wonderful time to be an author! You can literally visit book clubs around the world from the comfort of your home. Teleconferences and webinars are commonplace technologies that require almost no tech skills to use. It’s a real treat for book clubs to be able to speak to the actual author of the book they are reading.
• Get your publisher involved- Many publishers will set up a resource page for book clubs on their site that includes anything from PDF discussion questions to special discounts for club members. If your publisher does not currently offer that resource, bring it up to them. If they believe it will help sell books, you may be surprised what they will do for you.
• Contact book clubs directly- Prepare an e-mail to the club contact introducing yourself, including a link to your book club resource page, and your willingness to make yourself available to address the club or to hold a Q&A session. Start with Google to find a list of clubs or go to MeetUp.com for local groups. It returned over 10,000 results for the term Book Club.

Once you get in the book club scene, you can have a blast. It can be one of the most enjoyable ways to market your book. Be sure to check out Book-Clubs-Resource.com for more resources on book clubs. This site will help you prepare by learning how most clubs are organized.

Also, as you are checking things out, remember that “reading groups” are often used interchangeably for “book clubs”, but “book clubs” can also refer to the buyers clubs that people join where they purchase 6 books over 3 years (ie, Oprah’s Book Club, Double Day Book Club, etc…)

Tony Eldridge

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 at 8:29 am and is filed under Book Marketing, Social Media Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.