Q: For anyone who doesn’t know who Aphrodite’s Apples is and what they do, could you please tell them a little bit about the company and yourself?
A: Hello, I’m HS Kinn, President of Aphrodite’s Apples. About me? I’m a former teacher and speech-language pathologist. I have been writing since I was a kid, and won awards for my poetry, even back then. I edited my first antho of poetry in college, at age 18. I’ve also sung lead vocals in a goth band! The writing bug has never left me though, and so I started Aphrodite’s Apples with some friends of mine. We were all in a critique group together online. Some of us had tried conventional publishing already, some hadn’t. Some of us had sampled eBooks, and we were of the opinion, “We could do better.” Egotistical, I know. And we’ve since found some really great books and authors at other houses. I think the moral of that story is that it’s not necessarily the size of the publisher that determines the quality of the work. It’s also very humbling to learn how much work goes into every title that you read. We opened in July of 2006, and started out with a handful of erotic romances. Now we have over 30 authors on site. We’ve also expanded from our general emphasis on romance and erotica, to include general fiction.
Q: What is Aphrodite’s Apples in the market for from authors? What would you like to see more of? Less of?
A: Fresh, unique takes on the age old problems of love and romance, books that mesh romance with other genres, like GLB, mystery and suspense, or the supernatural. And in general fiction we’re looking for fresh ideas and unique voices. We love intelligent writing and world-building.
Q: What do you feel is the single most important thing an author can do to promote their work, after writing a “killer” book of course?
A: Blog, honestly. I get more hits to my blog than my author site, and we’ve found that blogs are the number one referrer to Aphrodite’s site. Don’t fear the MySpace either; it’s a great place to interact with readers! Beyond that, face-to-face promotion is great too. Even if you are solely ePublished, if you use VistaPrint and get yourself some nice bookmarks to hand out, it’s a great way to educate readers about you, your work and the medium.
Q: What publicity can authors contracted through Aphrodite’s Apples expect from the publisher on their behalf?
A: We have a blog, MySpace, and regularly scheduled chats every month. We also work with authors to provide merch and swag goodies if s/he is attending a convention. We also make up promo materials as needed for our authors.
Q: What online promoting do you feel is the most effective? Blogs? Chats? Virtual Booksignings? Blog Tours? Websites? Myspace? Etc?
A: Blogging and MySpace, though I also think that live chat is a lot of fun. Honestly, some of the best promo items and ideas are free or really cheap. I give out a lot of bookmarks for my own title, Immortal Reveries, and I mail them off to readers as door prizes at chats and loops.
Q: What types of advertising do you credit part of Aphrodite’s success to (strictly marketing speaking, we know that the people in the company also determine success)
A: Again, blogging. Blogging, MySpace and general networking all help, and they cost nothing, except time. We’ve also participated in some newer review sites, such as Enchanted Reviews, and the Romance Galleria. We’ve worked with SpecRom to promote our paranormal and Sci-Fi titles as well.
Q: What opportunities does Aphrodite’s Apples offer their authors so they can promote/publicize along with the publisher? ie Joint paying of ads, etc
A: We are working with Rites of Romance Reviews and Realms of Fantasy to create some joint ads and author spotlights. We have also worked with Specrom and plan to do so again. One of the nice things about SpecRom is that if you write an article, you get free ad space for a month.
Q: What conferences does Aphrodite’s Apples attend? Do you feel author attendance at these conferences is beneficial to their career? Why?
A: We’ve had representatives attend RT and EPICon, and will be doing so again next year. I think networking is always worthwhile. Writing is such a solitary endeavor; it’s nice to see you’re not the only one out there. And if you’re a cybernut like me, it’s great to put a face to the names you see every day.
Q: What aspects of your job do you think it would surprise authors to hear?
A: I think just the amount of work behind-the-scenes in general would surprise people. I know it surprised me when we first started! I don’t mind though, because it’s certainly a labor of love.
Q: Does Aphrodite’s Apples offer catalogs/promotional items for author use when going to booksignings and for general promotional efforts? What is the procedure for attaining/requesting such items?
A: We do indeed offer promotional brochures, t-shirts, pens, bags, bookmarks – some are for the company in general and some are specific to the author and his/her title. If our authors need materials, they contact our art designer Angela Skaggs and me.
Q: Are there services offered to authors by Aphrodite’s Apples that they generally don’t take advantage of and maybe don’t know about?
A: Authors don’t take enough advantage of the promo brochures and bookmarks. I think most of them know about those, but what they don’t know is that I make jewelry, much of it with Czech glass or semiprecious stones. I am happy to give authors jewelry for a special contest; all they have to do is ask!
Look at the list of the great prizes Aphrodite’s Apples and its authors are offering for their Marketing with Mandy Spotlight week! To be entered to be one of the winners (that will be announced on Sunday) all you have to do is comment on the blog on one or more of the Aphrodite’s Apples posts all this week.
Alisha Steele – one copy of The Summoner
Sultry Summers – one tote bag featuring the cover of Trojan Gold and stuffed with a few promo goodies
Regan Taylor – Bookmarks from Regan — and several other authors such as JB Skully, Candice Hern, and Monica McCarty — all signed
LA Taylor - one copy of either Azar or Solar Sensations, along with one copy of Miss Taylor’s rare, out-of-print children’s book “The Treasures of Trinkamalee”
Nikki Watson – one copy each of Spiral and Masquerade vol 2
Yolanda Sfetsos – one copy of HellBlaze
Tyree Kimber – one copy of Apocalypse Woman and a $10 gift card from Borders
Aphrodite’s Apples publisher prize – one 10 percent off coupon on any Aphrodite’s Apples purchase, a set of bookmarks, and one of HS Kinn’s beautiful Czech glass bead bracelets that she mentions in her interview!
