Sunday, August 4, 2013

Market a Book in These Cities


Which cities should you promote and market your book in? You can get some ideas by examining the size of television markets.

The Nielsen rankings of television markets across the country reveal little has changed from last year.  In fact, all of the Top 40 markets remained the same, except for the one occupying No. 39 – Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo, MI.  It jumped three spots, from No. 42 in 2011-12.  The only other top 125 market areas to jump three spots was Oklahoma City, moving to No. 41.  The only one to drop three spots is Birmingham, Alabama, tumbling to No. 42 from No. 39.

The size of the top 25 biggest markets for TV viewing may be shrinking slightly.  Fourteen of the top 25 TV markets showed declines from last year, but the numbers only amounted to tiny changes.  For instance, Sacramento, number 20, lost just 860 homes out of 1,388,570.  New York City only lost 3,470 out of 7.387 million, while the Number 2 city, Los Angeles, gained nearly 43,000 viewing homes.

The Top 20 TV markets are as follows:

1.      New York
2.      Los Angeles
3.      Chicago
4.      Philadelphia
5.      Dallas-Fort Worth
6.      San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose
7.      Boston
8.      Washington, D.C.
9.      Atlanta
10.  Houston
11.  Detroit
12.  Seattle-Tacoma
13.  Phoenix
14.  Tampa-St. Petersburg
15.  Minneapolis-St. Paul
16.  Miami-Ft. Lauderdale
17.  Denver
18.  Cleveland-Akron
19.  Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne
20.  Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto

Of the Top 25 markets, California had the most with three markets.  So did Florida.  Texas, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania each had two markets and all other states had one.

The bottom-ranked 21 markets collectively total a million TV households, roughly the size of No. 29, Nashville.  The smallest markets have fewer TV viewers than many bloggers get readers.  No. 210, Glendive, registers 4,050 TV homes.  North Platta has 14,720, at No. 209, and Alpena, at No. 208, has 16,910 TV homes.  Some college dorms may have more TV viewers than that.



Interview With Author Margaret C. Arvanitis


What type of books do you write? I write mid -grade fantasies that I call fables. 
(Fable: A tale embodying a moral and using a legendary character or myth as the protagonists and antagonists.) I have two fables published as e - and print books;  The Legend of ELPanda Paws; featuring a lost panda cub and good and bad elves.
Forbidden Wings; A Mermaid's Story, featuring sea creatures.  These are listed under M. C. Arvanitis in both Smashwords.com and Amazon.com. And all my books can be found on my blog at http://mcarvanitiswriter.blogspot.com  I am now branching out into YA historical novels.  I feel that is students would relate to history if the were given books with exciting fictional characters who lived in historic times. Authentically researched as to the time and background of the book. 

What is your newest book about?
'Hank of Twin River, Journey of Change’ the first in a series. The story of a young Iowa boy who, in 1855, crosses the wide Missouri River with his father and uncle and follows the Oregon Trail along the sometimes mild, sometime dangerous, Platte River. He discovers a world of strange places where all people are not friendly. He soon learns--sometimes the hard way--to stand on his own with rugged men and women who are blazing trails to the West and Southwest in the vast plains beyond the Missouri River. Hank of Twin Rivers; Journey of Change can be found at Smashwords.com  www.smashwords.com/books/view/336710 (And soon to be on Amazon.com) 

What inspired you to write it?  I want to see more books that boys would read and enjoy. The idea of Hank’s books came when years ago my sons and I lived near the Platte River in Nebraska, where the Oregon Trail followed the river. One of the memories they and I will always remember is walking along the riverbank and imaging how it would be like to live in the time when covered wagons traveled over these trails. This is when Hank of Twin Rivers began, although it took me years to finish the three books of a young boy coming of age at that point in his life.

What is the writing process like for you?
Like reading a good book only the story comes from my head. The plot comes out easily -- it the research, formatting and editing that is hard and so time consuming. 

What did you do before you became an author?
I was a preschool/kindergarten teacher. I taught children not only how to read but to love to read.

How does it feel to be a published author?
  Wonderful. A dream of Fifty years comes true. 

Any advice for struggling writers?
  Don't wait to find time; you must make time to write if you are serious. Every day spend at least 3 or 4 hours. Treat writing as an occupation, and be a tough boss. Make yourself do the job. Study your art – read help articles and go to workshops if possible. Don’t dream of fame and riches. Just write what you know and love and let your readers decide your fate. ☺ 

Where do you see book publishing heading?
  I see readers becoming important in our schools, to be used as teaching materials. Even the beginning reader can use an e-reader and there are some great illustrated books for the e-reader, but I don't see it replacing real hands on books. Every child under five should have a library of good picture books full of imaginational characters. Those stories are timeless. To love a book first they must touch one. (Every e-book I publish is also offered in a print book.) And then many will take up e-books as they get older. However for adult readers I see more and more using ebooks. Many like me, move often and carrying boxes of books isn't for us when we can carry our favorite library of books in an e-reader. In my opinion E-books is an evolution and will continue to grow in our world.


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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2013

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