How many of you have (or at one time, had) these sentiments:
“I do not want to be a bookseller. I am an author. I wrote a book. I want to do more writing—I do not want to be distracted by the annoying, humiliating practice of book promotion.”
I’ve also heard authors say: “I will do XYZ, in order to promote my book, but you’ll never catch me doing ABC.”
Just this week, a first-time author told me that she would send out press releases by the millions, but she would not give presentations or interviews, nor would she write articles, keep a blog or anything else.
Think about what happens when your press release reaches its destination. Some of them have gone to bad addresses. Many of them (when sent through a service or your “pay-to-publish” company) are not well-targeted. And when your promo piece does arrive on the doorstep of a potentially appropriate publication, it is very, very often discarded.
Why? You are an unknown author, your book topic doesn’t relate to the audience, there is nothing really that interesting in the press release to warrant publishing it.
Press releases can be effective marketing tools, especially if they are well-written, timely and pertinent and when they are reinforced by the personal touch. Imagine this—that press release to the newspaper in a neighboring city announcing publication of your historical novel, children’s book or memoir will get more notice if you’ve also been speaking to local groups in that area, doing radio/TV interviews and had one of your stories published in a regional magazine, for example. That’s how you get exposure and exposure is the way to sell books.
Now imagine the press release going out to that newspaper and even being published without the extra publicity. How many people do you think will notice it and respond to it by purchasing the book?
You’ve heard/read me preach/teach about platform. I suggest that, if you are working on a book, you establish a platform (your following, your way of attracting readers). You should make every effort to build a readership before you even produce that book.
Many of you are writing your memoirs. You know that celebrity memoirs generally sell well. Why is that? Because they are known. People buy their books out of curiosity (is anyone curious about your life?), because they like the celebrity (how many people out there know and like you?).
Thousands (maybe millions) of readers purchase novels by James Patterson and Danielle Steel. Why? Because they know these authors and like their work. These authors have proven themselves.
You may not ever get the volume of sales that these authors do, but you can increase your potential sales by becoming known in your genre. How? Submit stories in this genre to appropriate magazines, newsletters and websites. Your potential readers are bound to notice them. If they like your stories and they have the opportunity to read many of them, the more apt they are to purchase any books you produce (that is, if they know about them).
If you are writing a nonfiction book, you’ll generate more sales for that book if you can establish yourself as an expert in your field. People buy my publishing-related books because:
• They are familiar with my name as an author and publishing professional.
• They know me as a leader in SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network).
• They have seen multitudes of my articles for years published in the writing/publishing magazines and newsletters they read.
• They’ve attended my presentations in venues throughout the U.S. (FL, CA, MA, WA, WI, HI, TX…)
• They’ve seen my name associated with conferences nationwide.
• They’ve heard me on the radio, doing podcasts on the web, etc.
• They’ve read some of my many interviews online and in print.
• They’ve noticed all of the 5-star reviews of my books at Amazon.
• They follow my publishing blog.
What does it take to sell books? You must find ways to be noticed by your audience. And how hard can this be if you are, indeed, an expert or professional in your field? You should be doing all of the things I list here and more throughout the course of your day.
And if you write fiction, it makes sense that you would have scads of short stories filed away or in your head. Polish them up and submit them. It also follows that you would be involved in organizations and sites related to the genre of your book.
Avoid the huge mistake that so many authors make—holing up in your writing room until you’ve perfected your book and then expecting to promote it through impersonal press releases only.
For more about book promotion, you really must read my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.
http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html.
To learn more about article/story-writing, sign up for my on-demand, online course on article-writing.
http://www.matilijarpess.com/course_magarticles.htm
I’m thinking about doing something new—licensing my online courses. If you or someone you know would be interested in teaching these courses (on book promotion, writing a book proposal, self-publishing and article-writing), let me know. PLFry620@yahoo.com