Think your book would make a great Christmas gift? Being featured in a holiday gift guide could give your book sales a nice year-end bump. But you have to think ahead.

The following guest post from Corinne Liccketto of Smith Publicity offers more information.

5 Tips for Submitting Your Book to a Holiday Gift Guide

by Corinne Liccketto, Smith Publicity

If you’re interested in having your book placed in holiday gift guides, late August to early September is the time to pitch. If you wait too long, you’ll miss your chance.

Here are five tips for submitting your book to holiday gift guides:

1. Know your desired outlets and their submission guidelines. List the outlets for which you’re most interested in securing coverage and determine their submission guidelines. In most cases, along with a copy of your book, you’ll want to send a personalized cover letter, book release and author bio. Make sure you follow the guidelines! Editors won’t waste time digging up needed information on their own.
2. Know when to pitch. Deadlines are crucial. Pitch too early and your book will be forgotten; pitch too late and you won’t even be considered. Armed with your list, research the deadline dates of your most desired outlets. Magazines will likely need submissions by August (early September at the latest), whereas newspapers may require submission only two months before the holiday season. Don’t pitch every outlet at once because it’s easier for you that way. Respect the media’s deadline dates or you run the risk of annoying editors and ruining your chance at inclusion.
3. Donate a portion of your holiday sales to charity. Not only is giving back the right thing to do, but by donating a portion of your proceeds to charity you increase the appeal of your product. Media contacts can plug the cause your product benefits, giving the charity extra coverage too. It’s win-win.
4. Position your book as a ‘great gift under $30′. Or $20. Or $15. Whatever the price of your book, use it as a hook when you submit for consideration. By encouraging awareness of the cost of your book, you might inspire the editor to include your book in a featured section of the holiday gift guide.
5. Give a reason why your book is different than others. Does your book recap a hot trend of 2010? Is it eco-friendly? Telling editors why your book is different from others will give it an edge.

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Corinne Liccketto is the Sales Manager at Smith Publicity, Inc., one of the world’s leading promotional firms, specializing in book publicity. Fueled by a passion for making good things happen for clients, the company has worked with over 900 individuals and companies, from authors and entrepreneurs to publicly-held companies and businesses representing a wide range of industries. The Smith Publicity reach is international with offices in New Jersey, New York City, Los Angeles, and London.

Sometimes being a sci-fi geek has its benefits. It’s often said that not everything written about in science fiction exists, but everything that’s discovered in science existed first in science fiction. Now, sci-fi is leading the revolution in book packaging that we discussed in a previous blog post.

A new book by Daniel Wallace, The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force, won’t be your usual reference tome. With a hefty US$99 price tag, the promise is a full-color interior, “missing” pages, removable trinkets, flashing lights, sound, and movable parts. Oh, and there’s even an actual printed book to read somewhere in the package. Clearly not your usual hard cover edition.

With all the new formats — e-books, vooks (video books), audio books, enhanced books, collector editions with special features — it can seem like a confusing time. Or is it just the most exciting opportunity we’ve ever seen for creating new ways of communicating with your audience?

Coming up with a great title isn’t easy, but it may be the single most important thing you do for your book. Both the title and subtitle can have a major influence on your book’s success. A great title alone won’t sell your book, but a poor title can make sure it doesn’t sell.

Too many first-time authors try cramming a 25-word synopsis of their book into the title. They end up with titles that are insufferably long, hard to understand, and impossible to remember. Yawn.

For the main title, you want something memorable and easy to say. Titles are usually very short—sometimes just one or two catchy words. The subtitle then picks up the job of describing what the book is about in a bit more detail. The title piques interest, the subtitle explains.

Consider these partnered titles and subtitles:

The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Cost of Everything
Death By Meeting: A Leadership Fable About Surviving The Most Painful Problem in Business
Small Giants: Companies that Choose to Be Great Instead of Big

Brainstorm a list of keywords related to the content of your book and its intended readership. What is the main benefit someone will get from reading your book? Use these keywords in your title and subtitle to help draw the right people to your work.

Read through your preface, introduction, and cover copy. Sometimes you’ll find a choice concept or turn of phrase that can be pulled out and turned into a catchy title.

Once you’ve come up with keywords and done some brainstorming, narrow your list to one or two contenders and try them out on others. Your best test audience is made up of people who fall into your intended readership. Poll some clients if they’re the ones you want buying your book, or talk to colleagues in your industry if you wrote the book for them.

Avoid getting too attached to a title before the feedback comes in. And if you find yourself stuck without a title after all of this, get help. With so much resting on what goes on the front cover, it’s definitely worth the investment.