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What happens when you get tired of promoting your current book and decide to spend all of your time writing your next one? Virtually nothing. Sales for your current book begin to dwindle. Soon it is dead in the water. But you’re having fun writing again, aren’t you?

When you finish book two, then what? Will you publish it and promote it until you lose your enthusiasm for marketing? Is this any way to run a business?

Oh, you didn’t expect to go into business, did you? You don’t consider publishing a business? Well, it is. And your book is a product. In order to succeed as a published author, you must embrace this concept and understand that your book will sell for only as long as you are willing to promote it.

Not only is publishing a business, it is a highly competitive business with thousands of companies and individuals trying to get their books noticed. Those authors and publishers with the longest reach, the largest following and the most energy, creativity and persistence will get the most attention for their books. It all boils down to this: As an author, you must understand something about the publishing industry and be willing to take responsibility for your project.

Sure, it has to be a well-written book within a popular genre or one that is wanted/needed by a segment of readers. But even the best books—if no one knows about them—will not sell!

Marketing a book in today’s fiercely competitive publishing climate is tough—really, really tough. It takes knowledge, time, follow-through and more time than ever before in the history of publishing to successfully tame the book marketing tiger. Yet, there are many, many more options and opportunities for promoting books. It is the clever author who knows who his/her audience is, where they are and who understands that it is his/her responsibility to approach them with a tantalizing sales pitch.

Start (or continue) your education here: Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author. It’s at amazon.com in print, Kindle and audio as well as at many other online and downtown bookstores.

The Cat’s Meow Mystery
If you are one of the many who has downloaded my new cozy mystery, Catnapped, to your Kindle, I want to say, Thank you! Have you read it? Did you enjoy the story? Please leave a review at the Amazon Catnapped page: http://amzn.to/14OCk0W

Yesterday, we talked about cross promoting. Here are a few more ways that authors can promote two or more books of different genres/topics

Plan ahead. If you’re still in the process of writing your first novel, for example, consider including a story reflecting the theme of your nonfiction book. Whether the focus of your book is investments, beekeeping, hiking safety or business/organization management create a scene around this topic so you have a legitimate reason to promote both books in tandem.

Cross-promote to your live audiences. Perhaps people came to hear you speak on wise investments, beekeeping, safe hiking practices, management styles, etc. Use your imagination to discover ways to mention your new novel briefly during your presentations. You might share something that happened during the writing process—something you learned about your field of expertise while developing one of your characters, for example.

Maintain an email list and use it to promote each of your books when appropriate. Certainly some of your staunch followers for your nonfiction books will be eager to read your first attempt at writing in a new genre.

Design nonfiction articles to promote your fiction books. See if you can you come up with creative ways to mention your novel in an article featuring the topic of your nonfiction book. And certainly, use the space allowed for your bio to promote your novel. I might say, for example, “Patricia Fry is the author of 38 books, most of them designed to guide authors through the publishing and book promotion process. She has recently produced the first in her fiction series, The Klepto Cat Mysteries. Available at Amazon.com and http://www.matilijapress.com

Use these prompts I’ve offered over the last two days to come up with your own ideas for cross promoting your books when they happen to be on different topics or in different genres. I would also be interested in your own stories of cross-promotion. plfry620@yahoo.com

We’ve talked recently about the challenges of promoting two (or more) books of different topics/genres. I decided to devote this post to crossover activities—promotional activities during which you might include your nonfiction how-to, self-help, informational book and your novel or children’s book, for example.

1: Take all of your books to a book festival. While observing and/or chatting with visitors to your booth, you can easily determine which of your array of books they are interested in. But after they buy your book on parenting the autistic child, your memoir on finding yourself in the Bahamas or your how-to on weaving baskets, don’t let them leave without a bookmark touting your new romance novel.

2: Create a blog for each book topic or genre. I write books for authors. I established a blog to support these books back in 2005. A few years ago, I produced a book of cat stories and I created a blog related to cats. Since I started writing my mystery series that involves cats, I’ve begun using the cat blog to promote the first in the series, Catnapped. And I use each blog site to promote the other—as you’ve no doubt noticed. I may eventually start a blog dedicated to my fiction writing. If you decide to manage two (or more) blog sites, representing your different book themes/genres, cross promote. In other words, mention the fiction blog when writing your nonfiction blog and vice versa. You’ll see an example of that in this blog.

3: Always carry promotional material for both categories of your books. This might be bookmarks, postcards, etc. Let’s say you’re speaking to a group of dog owners about grooming techniques. When setting up your display of grooming books, also have a few copies and promotional material related to your WWII novel or your children’s book.

4: Design a catalog or 3-fold brochure displaying all of your books and hand it out at book festivals, offer it to audience members when making public appearances, mail it with book orders and so forth.

5: Maintain an email list and use it to promote each of your books when appropriate.

Use these 5 prompts to come up with your own ideas about how to cross promote your books that happen to be on different topics or in different genres.

Do you need help promoting your book, order Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author.

Are you confused and overwhelmed about the whole publishing scene? Which publishing option is best? Which company should you go with? How do you arrange for distribution? How do you find an agent? If these are some of your questions, you must read Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. These and other books for authors are available at Amazon in print, Kindle and audio. Also available at most other online and downtown bookstores as well as at the author’s website: http://www.matilijapress.com

Cat Chat
I’ve revived my Catscapades blog. Today, I’m talking about seasonal prompts you can use to promote your book of cat stories, your cat picture book, your how-to or informational book related to cats or your novel featuring a cat or two. http://www.matilijapress.com/catscapades

Promoting one book is time-consuming, energy-draining and takes tons of creativity and thought. Promoting two or more books in the same genre or within the same theme is even more demanding. But many of you are also writing and producing books in very different genres/on varying topics, requiring very different audiences and promotional tactics. For you, effective promotion is almost impossible.

How does one successfully promote a children’s book, books on woodworking and books related to writing and publishing all at the same time? How do you successfully promote books for authors and a cozy mystery? How do you appropriately promote a situational memoir, books on family finances and a fantasy novel? It certainly takes a lot of thought, planning and almost constant activity. It takes knowing two (or more) very distinct audiences and learning how to locate, approach and market to each of them. It takes study and research to come up with marketing ideas that will work for each title/segment of readers and it takes creativity to implement these ideas. More often than not, it means stepping outside your comfort zone.

Whether you have written one book for a well-defined audience or two or more books for a variety of readers, you must do something to bring the book(s) to the attention of your audience. Way too many authors and hopeful authors do not understand that it is up to them (the author) to promote his or her book. One of my missions as a public speaker, author, blogger, article-writer is to educate authors in this truth.

Whether you go with a pay-to-publish (self-publishing) company, establish your own company to produce your book or land a traditional publisher—whether you go digital only or print—it is up to the author to promote his or her book.

While you have more promotional options than ever before in the history of publishing, you also have more competition. Book marketing is a complicated, complex process that, in order to be successful, requires your full attention. I guess my most important piece of advice for you today is—before bringing out a book, make sure you have the time and information you need in order to appropriately promote it or that book will be dead in the water.

If you have a question about book promotion, please bring it to me here or email me here: plfry620@yahoo.com

I would also like to hear your stories of challenging, interesting, successful, etc. book promotion activities.

Cat Notes
Those of you who read cozy mysteries and/or who like cats, be sure to follow my Catscapades blog at http://www.matilijapress.com/catscapades This blog allows photos—and I have some really cute ones of cats helping me to promote my books, an award-winning pix of a cat leaping after a bee and more.

Would you like to work with a book marketing company? Do you have money to spend? Are you willing to work hard pursuing the gigs and opportunities the marketing company or publicist arranges for you? Is your book well-written, error-free and does it have an audience? Then you might benefit from a PR firm or publicist who works with authors.

Yesterday I did a little research for a client who is ready to hire such a company. I gave him a short list of two possibilities and contact information for three others—all seemingly reputable and with good recommendations. For those of you who are interested, here they are in no particular order:

Paula Margulies
http://www.paulamargulies.com

Scott Lorenz
Book Marketing Expert
http://www.book-marketing-expert.com

Dan Smith Publicity
http://www.smithpublicity.com

Ascot Media Group
http://www.ascotmedia.com

A Marketing Expert
Penny Sansevieri
http://www.amarketingexpert.com

Getting Purrrsonal Now
A new 5-star review has come in for Catnapped, a Klepto Cat Mystery. Check it out here:
http://amzn.to/14OCk0W

Catnapped is my first novel. It’s considered a cozy mystery and it involves cats—and horses. It’s on Kindle only at this point.

Let’s say you have a new book out. You know it needs to be promoted, but you just don’t have the time. You have a life, after all. What should you do?

Ideally, you would think about this before you write your book. If you aren’t going to take charge and promote your own book, if you don’t feel you’ll have time to promote it, if you find the very idea of book promotion distasteful, then I’d advise against publishing a book. Maybe wait until you retire and have more time to devote to this extremely time-consuming, energy-draining activity.

If you’ve already produced the book—it’s a done deal—if you want it to sell, you’d better learn the ropes of book promotion. Or you can hire someone to do the promotion for you. This week, I’ll be doing some research for a client with regard to book publicists, companies and individuals who do book promotion, etc. I hope to have something to report to my client and I’d like to share my findings with you, too. It will be interesting to see what I discover. At this point, I still maintain that the author is the best publicity agent for his/her book. That’s why I write books, articles and blog posts on the topic of book promotion. That’s why I go out and speak to authors about how to promote your book. But we’ll see if my research reveals anything to change my way of thinking. Stay tuned.

Purrrsonally Speaking
If you’ve purchased a copy of Catnapped, A Klepto Cat Mystery, I’d appreciate it if you’d consider leaving a review at Amazon once you’ve read it. If you haven’t purchased it, yet, it’s only $2.99 at Amazon. Buy it today for your Kindle. If you don’t have a Kindle, you can download a program to read Kindle books on your iPad, iPhone and computer. It’s right there on my book page. http://amzn.to/14OCk0W

How would you like a whole list of book reviewer directories? This is my birthday week and I do enjoy gifts—giving as well as receiving. So here’s my gift to you. If you have a book to promote and if you don’t immediately start searching some of these sites for appropriate reviewers, as TV’s Judge Judy would say, “There’s something wrong with you.”

If you’re already otherwise engaged in writing a speech to present to a large crowd, researching book festivals you can attend with your book this summer/fall, traveling to speak at an appropriate conference, writing an article for a major publication on your book’s topic, you’re excused. You can set this aside and pursue these great resources later. If, on the other hand, you are not doing something to directly promote your book, start today studying these lists and contacting reviewers for your book.

http://karinafabian.com/index.php?name=Content&pid=28

http://robinmizell.wordpress.com/book-reviewers

http://www.ebookcrossroads.com/book-reviewers.html

http://www.stepbystepselfpublishing.net/reviewer-list.html

http://www.theindieview.com/indie-reviewers

On a More Purrrrsonal Note
I think I have a handle on how to work my email program. I’ve had some requests over the years and a few more recently to produce a newsletter. So I might consider that. Otherwise, I’ll be sending announcements about new books and other information only periodically to my list. I have two more books in the Klepto Cat Mystery series coming out this year. If you’d like to be on my mailing list, let me know: plfry620@yahoo.com

Available now: Catnapped: A Klepto Cat Mystery. Coming soon: Cat-Eye Witness and Sleight of Paw. The 4th in the series is in the pipeline. Order your copy of Catnapped and leave a review at Amazon. I’d appreciate it and I think you’ll enjoy it: http://amzn.to/14OCk0W
It’s a Kindle book for only $2.99.

The work is tedious and the progress slow when it comes to book promotion. You feel as though you’re reaching out far and wide with your new book announcement. You’re poking around in crevices and cubbyholes seeking outlets for news of your book. You’re contacting dozens of people through massive directories and constant research. You’re stumbling across avenues that might lead to members of your audience and you’re pursuing them with gusto. Yet there are days when you seem to sit in silence with nobody noticing your efforts…no one caring about your project.

You have a decision to make. Do you give up and go back to your life? (Many authors do.) Or do you continue the process—ever seeking new pathways—new potential readers, reviewers, journalists who want to write about you, marketing opportunities, etc.?

Is the pittance of interest you receive for your efforts worth your while? Are you willing to wait it out until your activities begin to get results—review requests come in, bloggers want to write about you, your book is chosen for book clubs, your Amazon sales go up, up, up…? Or are you tired of the perceived rejection, you feel as though you’ve done enough and you’re ready to call it a day?

You spent months—maybe years—writing your book. And you’re not willing to give it at least that much time to find its way in the marketplace?

Something to think about. For those of you who are still in writing mode, please know that book promotion is nothing to take lightly. If you want your book to sell, you must—MUST—put in at least as much effort, energy and time as you have put into the writing of it. Any successful author will tell you that. Any failed author will admit that he or she did not do enough to launch their books and maintain sales.

For a clear understanding of the publishing industry and your responsibilities within it, be sure to order your copy of Publish Your Book. If you want a blast of book promotion wisdom and ideas, order Promote Your Book. Both books are available at Amazon in print, Kindle and audio and for sale at most downtown bookstores. Both by Patricia Fry