The Publishing Performance Show

Alexa Nazzaro - Launch Like a Pro: Customized Marketing Strategies for Fiction, Nonfiction, and Children's Books

• Teddy Smith • Episode 75

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Alexa Nazzaro is the founder of Axel Author Group, a publishing services company with the memorable tagline "we won't let you publish crap." With a background in writing and business communications, Alexa transitioned into author services after helping a client with an ebook project. Her passion for the creative process led her to support authors across various genres, while also working on her own fiction writing.


In this episode:

  • What makes an effective book launch strategy
  • The importance of marketing preparation before publication
  • Creating a "street team" of early supporters
  • Obtaining advanced reviews through various channels
  • Optimizing your Amazon presence with proper categories and keywords
  • Running successful Amazon bestseller campaigns
  • Leveraging author networks and newsletter swaps
  • Post-launch review generation strategies
  • The benefits of staggered launches for different formats
  • Special marketing considerations for children's books
  • Full-service publishing support options


Resources mentioned:


Book Recommendations:


Connect with Alexa Nazzaro:


Connect with Teddy Smith:

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[00:00:00] Teddy Smith: Hi everyone, and welcome to the Publishing Informant Show. I'm here with Alexa Nazzaro, who is from Axel Author Group, and I'm excited to speak to tagline is, we won't let you publish crap. So I'm hoping this is going to be quite a fun interview. Welcome, Alexa. 

[00:00:18] Alexa Nazzaro: Yes, thank you for having me, Teddy. 

[00:00:20] Teddy Smith: Thank you.

[00:00:20] Teddy Smith: No problem. So why don't you tell me a bit about your backgrounds and how you got started with books? 

[00:00:26] Alexa Nazzaro: Sure. Absolutely. So I'm a writer at heart. I've always written and I actually studied writing in university. It's always been a passion of mine. I've always loved books and I fell into author services a little bit by accident because I started out.

[00:00:41] Alexa Nazzaro: Mainly doing business communications and 1 of my clients said, look, you know, along with everything you're doing for me, I'm actually I've got an ebook. I want to put out. Can you help me with that? And I said, okay, yeah, definitely. And it was really, I guess, a sudden, but deep dive into the elements of book publishing and finding readers and just even designing the book and all of that.

[00:01:04] Alexa Nazzaro: And I just really enjoyed the creative process. And so little by little, I found my business shifting more and more towards helping authors. And I guess I was just connecting with more and more authors. So that's like the brief story of how I got into the whole author space. And, and that's kind of it, I guess.

[00:01:23] Teddy Smith: Brilliant. What sort of books were you writing before? 

[00:01:26] Alexa Nazzaro: Well, I tend to write a lot of fiction. I'm actually working on a series right now, but I've been spending a lot of time helping other authors. So my own writing has really been neglected, but I really enjoy fiction. I love personal essays, but with the Axel Author Group, we just publish all sorts of different genres.

[00:01:43] Alexa Nazzaro: So I like that variety. 

[00:01:45] Teddy Smith: Yeah. Amazing. So today we're talking about book launches, which is probably one of your main specialties at Axel group. And it's one of the things that you're most known for and you're the best at. So with book launches, why don't you tell us firstly, tell me what is a book launch and how it works.

[00:02:02] Alexa Nazzaro: So, essentially, a book launch is really getting your book launched into the market as strongly as possible. But I always like to preface whenever I talk about book marketing, I think it's really important to mention a couple of things. A lot of authors, many authors, especially 1st time authors. They haven't given book marketing much thought.

[00:02:23] Alexa Nazzaro: They're just slugging through their manuscript. They finally have it done. Oh my gosh, can I just see this up on Amazon? And so for many authors, marketing is not on their radar. And honestly, that's okay. In the sense that don't feel discouraged. You're going to hear words today. You're going to hear tips and maybe you're sitting back thinking, Oh no, I haven't even thought about that.

[00:02:45] Alexa Nazzaro: Those things, those elements. Am I just. Is this all going to be a waste of time? And it isn't, because as an indie author, even if you don't launch right, so to speak, you can always find ways to market your book after the fact. And I just think that's an important thing to say, because for many authors, they've just spent so much time working on their manuscript, they haven't even thought.

[00:03:08] Alexa Nazzaro: I mean, launching is 1 thing, but then even other marketing things beyond launching, because the fact of the matter is, is it you have to find an audience for your book and the competition is extremely fierce. So just be aware that if you don't have marketing lined up, it's not the end of the world, but you also have to remain aware.

[00:03:30] Alexa Nazzaro: Of that competition, because I still meet authors quite regularly who don't seem to be in touch with the reality out there. And they're just thinking, I'll publish my book and I'll just find my reader base. And that just isn't the way it works. So don't be discouraged, but be real, be realistic. 

[00:03:47] Teddy Smith: Yeah, definitely.

[00:03:48] Teddy Smith: I mean, I think the importance of a launch is, you know, a great book with a bad launch might do nothing. Whereas an okay book within a great launch will start selling and doing something. So it's, it really is the difference between making sales or not. 

[00:04:03] Alexa Nazzaro: Oh, absolutely. No doubt about it. I have also worked with clients who have succeeded in reviving their backlist, so to speak.

[00:04:10] Alexa Nazzaro: So that's what I was. That's what I meant really about being an indie author. That's the beauty of the indie author journey is you have so much control over your own marketing, your own book and whatnot. So you can always revive that. I would say that the very, very least before launching a book at the very least, you need to have some kind of a website.

[00:04:30] Alexa Nazzaro: I mean, it's, it's funny that there are. Still authors out there who don't, you know, they see all the social media and they figure, well, do I really need a website? Yeah, you need some kind of real estate on the web. That is yours that you own. That's really important. Even if it's a basic website to start and you can always expand and add elements to it later.

[00:04:50] Alexa Nazzaro: I would definitely do that. They always recommend to authors, craft your elevator pitch, so to speak. It sounds like something really obvious, but so many authors, when they're asked, so what's your book about? They, they, they don't know what to say. They start going into this, finding an effective, short way to describe your book in its most appealing way.

[00:05:11] Alexa Nazzaro: That's so important. And some kind of a 1 pager Flyer, if you will, I mean, sell sheets are a little bit more specialized, but even just a flyer, a document, a PDF. So, if somebody knows someone, I want to know more about your book. I have a bookstore owner who might be interested in your book. You have something ready.

[00:05:31] Alexa Nazzaro: So, those to me are the absolute essentials. And start, spend time ahead of time following authors in your genre. Learn from them, see what they're doing out there. How are they engaging? Subscribe to their mailing lists. So these are all things I feel they're very doable and they are things you can do leading up to your, to your book launch.

[00:05:53] Alexa Nazzaro: So at the very least, those are what I would recommend. 

[00:05:56] Teddy Smith: Yeah, definitely. And I think you can. People get a bit scared about thinking about making an author website. They think it's going to be really complicated. They're going to have to cope. Actually, even with a service like MailerLite or one of those websites or email platforms, you can create landing pages really, really easy with drab and drop platforms.

[00:06:12] Alexa Nazzaro: It is so, so easy. It really is doable and you don't need an enormous budget for a website. Yes, of course, if you hire an agency and they take care of everything for you, there will be a price and an investment attached to that. But it is so doable and your website to begin with can simply be your name, your branding, you know, a synopsis of your book, buy links, certain advanced reviews, and you've got something.

[00:06:37] Alexa Nazzaro: So no, a website, we're not like in the nineties anymore. So you really don't need to be a coder to have a really nice website. 

[00:06:46] Teddy Smith: Good advice. Now with the book launch, I think there's a few steps that you need to go through in order to. get your book launch set up in the right way. So let's assume that a book is on Amazon as well, because I think majority of people's books could be on Amazon, if we're honest.

[00:07:01] Teddy Smith: Let's, should we go through the key steps for a book launch and what they would look like for an author? 

[00:07:05] Alexa Nazzaro: Okay. So if we're, let's assume that the book is not up. Already on Amazon. Let's let's look at that. So the very 1 of the most creative and I think most effective ways is to put together a reader fan base ahead of time, some kind of a street team of sorts people who are who are going to be really they reflect your target demographic.

[00:07:29] Teddy Smith: Sorry, what do you mean by that? That street team? Is that like, do you mean like a reviewer, advanced reviewer crew? Or is this like a person? No, 

[00:07:35] Alexa Nazzaro: like really a crew that would, they will read your book ahead of time. They will be ready to leave a review when the book is actually published. But more importantly, they are going to.

[00:07:46] Alexa Nazzaro: Sustain or back up your marketing efforts leading up so they will talk. They will talk about your book. They will share the buzz. When you reveal your book cover, you will share it with those people who in turn will share it. This is actually something that I get the sense a lot of authors don't do, but it can be an effective way.

[00:08:07] Alexa Nazzaro: And it's a very grassroots way. It doesn't require a lot of investing other than time. So you don't want just 2 or 3 people. You'd like to have several people and they can be people, you know, there's nothing wrong with that, but as long as they do reflect your target readership, so that it appears more credible.

[00:08:25] Alexa Nazzaro: That to me is something really, really important. There's certainly nothing wrong with getting advanced reviews. There are two options. You obviously have the sponsored review sources, like you've got Clarion Reviews, you've got Kirkus Indie Reviews. There's certainly nothing wrong with those. What I always recommend to authors, however, is to be selective.

[00:08:46] Alexa Nazzaro: For instance, when you're a children's author, and I know we're moving ahead to children's authors, but Kirkus reviews carry a lot of weight, and the fact of the matter is, librarians and teachers, they like seeing Kirkus reviews, so you have to be selective about, 

[00:08:59] Teddy Smith: a Kirkus 

[00:09:01] Alexa Nazzaro: review is essentially, it's, it's published by Kirkus, so Kirkus is a huge book review source.

[00:09:06] Alexa Nazzaro: They review. Many, many traditionally published books, but they have also opened their doors to indie books. And so it's a sponsored review, meaning there is a price attached. But what I always tell authors who opt for this, and I don't recommend it for every author, but for the authors who do opt in for that, the idea is, you just get it.

[00:09:27] Alexa Nazzaro: While all you really want is you want to have one good quote from Kirkus, that's really what you want. And that can make a huge difference. You put it on your book cover. You put it on your website. So those are some advanced review sources. There's also always the option of trying to go the traditional route.

[00:09:44] Alexa Nazzaro: And those are like, for instance, for Indie authors, Forward Reviews is an extremely reputable review magazine. They will not review every submission. So you have to go through the more traditional submission process, and that's where time is critical. So if you really wanna launch your book properly, you will have to delay publication if you wanna do certain things.

[00:10:07] Alexa Nazzaro: You can't just get your book up and say, okay, I, I've waited long enough, I'll do some of these things later. The launch requires time, so advance review. Advanced reviews are just that they are advanced review. So, especially for certain submissions, they're going to want to, you know, they will ask you, are you willing to push out your publication date?

[00:10:28] Alexa Nazzaro: Let's see an average of 6 months. So, if you're willing to do that, and even if it's just about taking a chance. But if you do land one of these reviews, it could be great for you. Then why not do it? I worked with a children's author whose book was selected for forward reviews, and it's great, but it's hard to do.

[00:10:47] Alexa Nazzaro: But you have to be willing to invest that time and be patient. So those are definitely good sources. And I think there's nothing wrong. This can be, it might, it might sound more like a pipe dream, but there's nothing wrong with targeting authors in your genre, maybe not superstar authors who probably get solicited day and night for book reviews and whatnot, but mid tier authors.

[00:11:11] Alexa Nazzaro: The key here, though, is to stand out. So it's all about how you package your book, how you approach them. But there's nothing wrong with doing that, because even if you don't necessarily get a review, you might just get some responses from them. And I've had that experience too, which is really, really cool.

[00:11:28] Alexa Nazzaro: But again, it requires time. So that's my opinion about reviews. 

[00:11:33] Teddy Smith: So sending you think sending your book out to. Authors who are already in your niche is a good way to get that first bit of feedback. 

[00:11:42] Alexa Nazzaro: I think it's, it's, it's a long shot to be completely honest, but I think it can be effective because at the very least you will be, you will stand out, but the key is to stand out.

[00:11:54] Alexa Nazzaro: So for instance, for one book launch, we actually, we actually put together, it was a middle grade book and, it told the story of a boy on a ship. So we create a literally little ship. Parts and we put the book in and we went through a lot of trouble, but it did elicit some responses, which was really, really cool.

[00:12:14] Alexa Nazzaro: But again, it's all about whether that's, you know, that's the route you want to take, but if you do take that route, it's all about standing out. You cannot just look like the slush pile. You just can't. 

[00:12:27] Teddy Smith: Yeah, so this is the bit that's like before the books actually got onto the, onto the site. 

[00:12:34] Alexa Nazzaro: Absolutely.

[00:12:34] Alexa Nazzaro: Absolutely. And then obviously from there, once your book is launched, there's nothing wrong with starting to solicit reviews. One of the things that I think is important is to nurture relationships ahead of time. So, back when I was talking about what to do before the book launch, I think following authors in your genre are important, but I also think, I also think joining certain associations can be really, really effective, like the Independent Book Publishers Association.

[00:13:03] Alexa Nazzaro: They have really opened their doors recently to individual authors. There are some wonderful educational resources that are offered by these organizations, and it gives you an opportunity to network and you can find some influencers in those circles who can also help you. it's relationship building because influencers and whatnot, they will know, Oh, this is somebody who's just spraying and praying.

[00:13:26] Alexa Nazzaro: They're just approaching me. They have no idea who I am. So once again, it's a question of time. Yes. If you work with an agency like ours, we alleviate that time, but for authors who want to do as much as possible on their own, it, those things take time. 

[00:13:42] Teddy Smith: Right. Okay. And so once the book is on Amazon, so you've.

[00:13:47] Teddy Smith: What you talked about so far is kind of creating that pre launch buzz. So it's how you get people talking about the book, how you get those, how you get the, advanced reviews. Now once the book is on Amazon and I know you've got a package, which is all around the Amazon bestseller campaign. So how does that work to, how do you do that to make sure the Amazon, the book is.

[00:14:05] Teddy Smith: Doing as well as possible on Amazon. 

[00:14:07] Alexa Nazzaro: So, I mean, obviously, there are different things you can do. One of the first things I recommend, and a lot of authors don't do this, is optimize your Amazon presence, your, your book's presence on Amazon. So this goes back to some of the basics, like a really good, effective book synopsis.

[00:14:22] Alexa Nazzaro: Picking the right categories, picking the right keywords. And Teddy, you and I know there are some great tools out there to help, to help authors do that. And I really recommend you take the time and you do that properly so that you are in the proper niche categories. And then what we do is we will actually leverage different mailing lists to announce the book.

[00:14:45] Alexa Nazzaro: But one of the things that I'm really careful about when I talk about Amazon bestseller campaigns, I always tell my authors, remember, the goal is not necessarily to be a bestseller. Yes, it's great to hit the top of the charts and to be there for a while, but really what it is. especially if you're a new emerging author is to get your book out to as many people as possible in as short a time as possible.

[00:15:09] Alexa Nazzaro: So we've run bestseller campaigns where we've had, you know, 3000 people over 3000 people over the period of a day, take a chance on someone's book on their ebook. And I think those are wonderful, really cost effective ways to just. Have discoverability and enhanced discoverability. It's it can really be a game changer, but you have to realize that you have to give these people a chance after the fact to read your book to leave a review.

[00:15:39] Alexa Nazzaro: So, what we actually recommend to some authors is do a few of those like do. To a year or something, just to keep that discoverability going, at least in the beginning. So the, the, you know, the goal here is not to be a bestseller. It's always nice to be a bestseller, but we also have to be honest that really the bestseller labels that count are the New York Times and all of those other USA Today and whatnot.

[00:16:03] Alexa Nazzaro: But at the very least, you can really do affect an effective job of finding. A huge group of new readers who otherwise would have probably never known about you or your book. 

[00:16:14] Teddy Smith: Yeah. When you do your launch, do you also try and get your book in in other, you mentioned just now other newsletters and getting your book in front of other email lists.

[00:16:23] Teddy Smith: Now, say if someone's just starting out, where would they find those email lists? What are the best? Is it other authors or is it? Related topics. 

[00:16:31] Alexa Nazzaro: It's it's really to related topics and to specific book promotion mailing lists. So, certainly, if you're working with authors ahead of time, and this is where that whole advanced networking can be really effective, you can help each other.

[00:16:45] Alexa Nazzaro: And there are so many cases where authors help each other out, especially if they're emerging authors or mid tier authors, you can sort of piggyback on their mailing list, and then they will piggyback on yours. And this can be a really effective. Growth, you know, a growth booster. And I mean, that's something that we do too at the Axel author group is we partner with other industry peers and we share each other's knowledge.

[00:17:09] Alexa Nazzaro: And that's really effective. So, yes, those are definitely good, but also mailing list that really, they just have a very strong reader base. 

[00:17:18] Teddy Smith: Yeah. Yeah. No, of course we, I was interviewing Evan from, story origin and he was, we were talking about all about newsletter swaps and how they can be really effective.

[00:17:26] Teddy Smith: Oh, 

[00:17:26] Alexa Nazzaro: absolutely. Absolutely. I recommend that. And that too is something that can be very effective, but it requires just take your time ahead of time to do some research. 

[00:17:36] Teddy Smith: Perfect. Now that then the, so that's, we've gone through the pre launch, then you've got your launch. Now after that, you've got your post launch, which is all about getting reviews.

[00:17:45] Teddy Smith: Now, Do you have any good strategies for getting those reviews and do you use any particular tools or websites to help you with that? 

[00:17:52] Alexa Nazzaro: So in terms of getting reviews, so for instance, there is, for example, NetGalley. We didn't quite talk about NetGalley during the review process. NetGalley is an enormous forum.

[00:18:02] Alexa Nazzaro: It's, it's, it can be really, really effective for certain writers. to authors, I should say, to make their book available for review. It doesn't necessarily have to be an advanced review copy. It can be, you can use the site and the platform even post launch. And NetGalley has many, many, many reviewers on there and traditionally published books use NetGalley and indie publishers can use them as well.

[00:18:27] Alexa Nazzaro: The only thing to realize with something is what happens when a platform like NetGalley just explodes in popularity is the competition becomes fiercer and fiercer. So your book, when it launches, it might be really popular and requested and solicited. Over the period of a couple of weeks, and then it will drop.

[00:18:45] Alexa Nazzaro: But that's why NetGalley also offers certain advertising options to maintain your books visibility, but NetGalley can be really, really effective as well, because you have readers. And the idea is they read your book. Some of them are even open to being approached by the author and you get these reviews and you get this contact information.

[00:19:03] Alexa Nazzaro: So I think that can be really, really valuable as well. So that is 1 thing I would recommend. I would also recommend this is where that street team that I was talking about can be useful because if they're posting reviews about their book, and they share with their networks, hey, check out this book, leave a review.

[00:19:22] Alexa Nazzaro: It can slowly grow, but I really put the emphasis on slowly, because if you're just starting out. It's going to take a while, but you will notice if you're doing things properly with book 1, you will notice things are easier with book 2. So we have an author who just recently launched a book. She already has a series established and she was noticing.

[00:19:42] Alexa Nazzaro: Oh, look at that. I'm already finding readers, but that's because they put in the work ahead of time. We have another author. A memoir is the same thing. She started out brand new with her 1st book. She did all the work. She really, really went on social media engaged. She also did podcasts. So podcasts, I do want to mention podcasts can be really effective for the right author.

[00:20:03] Alexa Nazzaro: You have to be comfortable doing them, of course, but then you will find that with book two, it'll get a little easier because you will have built a fan base, but it's so important to be in it for the long term. You cannot just sit back and do nothing and don't measure success. Don't base it on the first six months of your book's shelf life.

[00:20:23] Alexa Nazzaro: It's just not, it's just not a realistic measure, I would say. 

[00:20:28] Teddy Smith: Yeah, definitely. That's interesting that you mentioned coming on podcast because obviously that's something I am very passionate about. But for authors, what advice have you got for finding podcasts? Because I've actually, so for some of the authors that appeared on this podcast, I've generally found them.

[00:20:44] Teddy Smith: Some have got in contact me, but. If people want to go and find podcasts, what's the best approach for doing that? 

[00:20:49] Alexa Nazzaro: Okay. Well, there are some websites. I'm sure you're aware of those websites days, but things like pod match and whatnot. So those can be really, really effective. When we do this for authors, it's a, it's a two tier process.

[00:21:01] Alexa Nazzaro: We will have podcasts pitching to us saying, Hey, we would love to have your author on, but then what we do is what we will do our own homework and pitch our authors to the right. Podcasters, I think what's important is to develop really, really build up your profile in a way that is attractive to potential podcasters and show that you have some experience speaking, being a good speaker.

[00:21:25] Alexa Nazzaro: And this is where even some speaking coaching can come in handy, or at the very least having on hand. Your elevator pitch, having on hand, certain stories, authors are always underestimating the level of interest people have in things like what's your writing process? What's your ritual? What inspires you?

[00:21:43] Alexa Nazzaro: But just having some information about yourself that you feel comfortable delivering is a good step. 

[00:21:51] Teddy Smith: What's so interesting about the way that your business works compared to maybe a lot of others I've seen is it does feel like when an author comes to you, you kind of. take them on board and say, look, come with me.

[00:22:00] Teddy Smith: We'll show you exactly what you need to do. We'll hand hold you through different processes. If there's something you don't know, we'll help you to get to that next level or to level up your game. Like for example, coaching and speaking and things like that. 

[00:22:11] Alexa Nazzaro: Absolutely. And I think customization is so important when we talk about launching and book marketing in general, because There's no one size fits all.

[00:22:19] Alexa Nazzaro: We have packages because we find sometimes it's easier for authors who can just be overwhelmed by everything they need to do, but beyond the package, we always sit down with the author and figure out who is your target market. What's right for you? For instance, bookstore signings could be really appropriate for 1 author and completely mood and pointless for another media kits, you know, courting the media that could be really appropriate for 1 author and not for another.

[00:22:45] Alexa Nazzaro: So. Okay. Try not to do everything a because you'll probably just get exhausted and be I'm sure not. Everything will be working or right for you. You being the author, I'm not speaking to you necessarily. 

[00:23:01] Teddy Smith: Don't worry. I'm a, I'm a beginner at this stuff too. Yeah. Now, all of the stuff we've talked about today, does it count equally if your book is in any type of format?

[00:23:12] Teddy Smith: For example, does it matter if your book's an ebook or audiobook or in paperback, or is it all a similar sort of process? 

[00:23:18] Alexa Nazzaro: I would say it's a similar process, but I think that I, I I like staggering the launch. So, you know, for instance, if most authors, they will work with their, they will launch their paperback and ebook more or less at the same time.

[00:23:33] Alexa Nazzaro: But when we do audio books, I always recommend to authors, let's hold off a little bit so that you have another group. piece of news to share with your network. And that is really very, very effective. What's also nice about an audio book is you can also optimize and leverage the network that your narrator has.

[00:23:51] Alexa Nazzaro: Frequently narrators, they're also out there. They want to court people and they want to become known. So then they share the launch. So I recommend at the very least audio book separate so that you just have a bit of a stack and you just, it just gives you a reason to get back in touch with people. 

[00:24:10] Teddy Smith: Yeah.

[00:24:10] Teddy Smith: So it's slightly different process with audio books is you've got, cause I guess, cause you've got that narrator as well. You've got someone else who's on your team who can help promote too, cause it's. 

[00:24:18] Alexa Nazzaro: Absolutely. Absolutely. And there are different things you can do. You can release little samples. I mean, there are so many different things you can do with your audio book, put a sample up on your website and audio is really, really, it can be a very nice marketing opportunity that kind of literally speaks for itself in a way, you see.

[00:24:36] Alexa Nazzaro: Have 

[00:24:37] Teddy Smith: you been practicing that line? No, I haven't actually. 

[00:24:40] Alexa Nazzaro: This is totally spot on. I'm going to use it. I'm going to keep using it. 

[00:24:46] Teddy Smith: Audio books speak for themselves. 

[00:24:48] Alexa Nazzaro: They speak for themselves. Exactly. There we go. A new tagline, a new 

[00:24:53] Teddy Smith: tagline. Now, the process we've been talking about today have been mostly for Adult books.

[00:24:58] Teddy Smith: And I can see how it would work for fiction and nonfiction, but for children's books is something maybe I don't know quite as much about. I know you're experts in children's books and my, basically the difference between children's books and especially nonfiction books, in my opinion, is I think it's harder with things like keywords and trying to work out what customers are searching for.

[00:25:17] Teddy Smith: So for example, I've got this book here, it's about like how to write a sitcom and keywords that are obvious how to write a sitcom. That's what I searched on Amazon. It's projects I'm working on. For a kid's book, if it's a kid's book about a magic dog, for example, people don't necessarily search for child's book about magic dog, because that's not something that you'd actually search for usually.

[00:25:38] Teddy Smith: So what does the launch process look a bit like for the children's books as well? 

[00:25:44] Alexa Nazzaro: So if we just want to look at, for instance, keywords or categories, let's say, let's talk about Amazon categories, at least for juvenile fiction, for children's books. When you think about your book, think about Most children's books have some kind of a lesson attached.

[00:25:59] Alexa Nazzaro: So what is the lesson that is attached? So it could be self esteem. It can be self confidence. It can be family and reinforcing the value of family, for example. Those types of things are really what A lot of parents or adults are looking for when they're looking for books, so they're not going to be looking for a magic dog, but they're going to be looking books with animals and they might say book with a dog.

[00:26:23] Alexa Nazzaro: And so those are things, self esteem books for children. Those are some examples of keywords and or categories that could be really useful. One of the big things I would say with children's books and children's book authors is when you're marketing your book. Don't. You're obviously not marketing directly to children.

[00:26:42] Alexa Nazzaro: You're marketing to adults. So you have to really emphasize what are the messages and what is the value of the messages in your book that can enrich a child's life. So that that's one key difference. The other thing I would say schools and libraries can be such wonderful marketing tools and courting those schools and libraries, which is a whole other thing.

[00:27:03] Alexa Nazzaro: If your book is Grade level appropriate, take the time and come up with a curriculum guide with some activities and discussion questions and start courting schools for that. That can be really good. Build alliances with libraries, go to library conventions, all of these things take time, but they can really make a difference because librarians and teachers, they can really champion your book, probably more effectively than just a textbook.

[00:27:30] Alexa Nazzaro: Thank you. Regular reader can. So those are important connections to make and bookstore signings. Oh, my goodness, children, parents are always taking their kids to the bookstore and go out there and court bookstores and do a reading, you know, lace it in with an activity. And you have two, three hours where you can spend time with kids, but with their parents.

[00:27:51] Alexa Nazzaro: And those are really, really important things. Bookstore events can be wonderful for children's authors and building those alliances with librarians and schools. 

[00:28:00] Teddy Smith: Yeah. That's very interesting. I mean, just having that conversation compared to the early conversation shows how important it can be to get that slightly more personalized approach, especially if you're not too confident on the entire launch process, because it is going to be different for different books where it might not be appropriate to have a book signing for one type of book, but for your children's book, that would be the best thing 

[00:28:19] Alexa Nazzaro: to do.

[00:28:20] Alexa Nazzaro: Absolutely. And having certain marketing materials on hand, just as a little side note, I always recommend coloring pages, depending on the age of the, of your target reader, coloring pages, different activities. Those are all wonderful things to include, but yes, coming face to face, because you also build a bit of that credibility with a child.

[00:28:41] Alexa Nazzaro: Children love meeting authors. They think it's incredible and it's a nice way to also build relationships with parents. 

[00:28:48] Teddy Smith: Yeah. Amazing. Yeah. . Now how does Axel the author group, how does it support the authors, sort of from the beginning all the way to the end? How do those packages work for both like the adults and also the children's books?

[00:28:59] Alexa Nazzaro: Sure, sure, of course. So we really go, we walk through every step of the book, design, publishing, and beyond process. So a lot of authors come to us and we work on their manuscript with them. Some of them come. Book has already been edited. That's great. Others still need some work on their manuscript. We can go through that entire process.

[00:29:19] Alexa Nazzaro: We also design the book. So we take care of all elements of not just book production, but things like metadata, a synopsis, picking the right categories, advising on retail price, all of that. All of those elements and then, of course, we publish the book and we could help with marketing. So, if we get an author early enough, then we start planting those seeds and that foundation.

[00:29:41] Alexa Nazzaro: Let's talk about your social media. Let's talk about getting reviews. But even beyond, there are so many ways that an author can still be supported. So, yeah, it can really be a turnkey solution from beginning to end. 

[00:29:53] Teddy Smith: Brilliant. It's really nice to have that sort of hand holding when you're maybe not so confident and you really want your book to succeed at first.

[00:29:59] Teddy Smith: Yeah, absolutely. Well, brilliant. Thank you so much for joining me today. I think that's been really helpful to go through that launch process step by step, especially to hear about how the children's books would be different because it's I've got a children's book, but I've never really focused on it too much.

[00:30:13] Teddy Smith: And so I'm, it's something I'm going to have to come and chat to you about later on. 

[00:30:17] Alexa Nazzaro: Absolutely. It's so funny. There are so many people who have written children's books and they can be so wonderful. They're really, really creative. 

[00:30:25] Teddy Smith: Yeah, definitely. Cause my specialty is definitely the Amazon side of it.

[00:30:29] Teddy Smith: And I find that quite tricky with the children's book. So I think. Okay. Maybe doing a bit more offline marketing could be something that would work for me. Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you so much for joining us. Just before we go, one final question, and that's what one book do you recommend that everyone should be reading at the moment?

[00:30:45] Teddy Smith: At the 

[00:30:45] Alexa Nazzaro: moment? I mean, I have a couple of authors who have launched some really cool books lately, and I mean, I just want to plug them. So there's Dana S Diaz. She's written a couple of memoirs, Gasping for Air, Choking on Shame. Those are really great. Books that follow her own trajectory actually through an abusive relationship, but most importantly, her survival.

[00:31:07] Alexa Nazzaro: So that's been really great. We have Adele Royce who just launched a thriller summer's blood, which is so well written. So those are 2 I would recommend for creatives out there. I mean, these are some older books, but I love the creative habit by Twyla Tharp. I think that's just a wonderful book. Oh yeah.

[00:31:25] Alexa Nazzaro: Don't you agree? It's so, it's just such a great little book. The artist's way. So for creative types, those are some classics, but I, I go back to them time and again. So. 

[00:31:35] Teddy Smith: Brilliant. Well, those are great recommendations. Thank you very much. 

[00:31:38] Alexa Nazzaro: Perfect. Perfect. 

[00:31:40] Teddy Smith: Well, thanks for joining us, Alexa. I love speaking to you.

[00:31:43] Teddy Smith: Hopefully we'll get you back on to speak about another of your services soon, but speaking soon. 

[00:31:48] Alexa Nazzaro: Thank you so much for having me, Teddy. 

[00:31:50] Teddy Smith: Thank you so much for tuning into the Publishing Performance podcast. I really hope you found today's episode inspiring. I love chatting to authors, writers, and people in the publishing world.

[00:31:59] Teddy Smith: Now, just before we wrap up, let me tell you about Publishing Performance, the number one platform for authors who want to increase Amazon book sales, but I'm not really sure where to start. Now, this show is all about helping you to sell more books. And if you're looking to boost your publishing game and to maximize your book's potential on Amazon, then Publishing Performance is designed to help authors just like you to grow your readership and to reach a much wider audience.

[00:32:25] Teddy Smith: Now, I know that Amazon ads can be slightly complicated, which is why Publishing Performance is like having a personalized ad account manager to create your ad campaigns, to choose your best keywords, And to make adjustments in real time. Now, if you're investing in ads, you really want to make sure that your investment is being used effectively.

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