What have you done to promote your book today? This week? During the past month? If you haven\u2019t had many sales recently, your answer is probably in the form of an excuse, \u201cI\u2019ve been working a lot,\u201d \u201cI just haven\u2019t had time to promote,\u201d \u201cMy grandchildren are living with me now,\u201d \u201cMy husband is out of work,\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t know what to do next\u2014I sent announcements to my email list earlier this year and had a book signing in June.\u201d<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t tell how many authors I talk to who bemoan the fact that sales are down\u2014that their book isn\u2019t selling as well as they had hoped\u2014but they aren\u2019t prepared to or don\u2019t have a desire to make any changes. Many of them entered into the world of publishing ill-prepared and they are unwilling to do anything to repair their original mistakes. <\/p>\n
I have devoted the last fifteen years, or so, to helping authors make better choices on behalf of their books. It\u2019s sort of like preparing young mothers for the advent of parenthood. I\u2019ve experienced authorship myself. I\u2019ve been enmeshed in the world of publishing for nearly forty years personally and as an organization leader, speaker, teacher, consultant and more. I\u2019m also a keen observer of trends in authorship. And, folks, I am seeing way too many authors floundering and failing. Some of them won\u2019t even reach out for a life preserver\u2014for a chance at saving their books\u2014especially if it means expending energy, putting in any time or spending any money.<\/p>\n
I often compare authorship to business ownership. I say, \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t open a retail store without knowing something about the business, the product you\u2019re offering, distributors, suppliers, your competition and your customers.\u201d And I stress that authorship is a business and should be approached as such. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s well known that people who go into business without enough information and preparation, generally don\u2019t last long. Look around your community. You\u2019ll see successes in business and you\u2019ll see failure. If you were a fly on the wall, you would probably see the successful businessperson studying the industry before getting involved. He\u2019ll have some investment money or strong collateral for getting a loan. He\u2019ll survey his potential customer base in an attempt to find out who his customers are and what their needs\/desires are with regard to his product\/service. You\u2019ll notice him checking out his competition and, perhaps, deciding to offer services or products that are not currently available in that region. He\u2019ll become acquainted with service and product suppliers, costs, regulations, etc. He\u2019ll study consumer demographics to determine the best location for his particular business. And he will develop a marketing plan in order to get word out about his new business.<\/p>\n
If you could take a peek into his counterpart who either never gets his business off the ground or who promptly fails, what would you see? Someone who decides, on a whim, to start a business doing something he loves. He\u2019ll rent the cheapest place he can find and hope he can make the rent with his meager savings just in case the first few months in business are slow. He hears that there are a couple of other businesses offering the same product\/services in the vicinity, but he doesn\u2019t care. He\u2019s following his dream\u2014besides his friends and a few people at the club he frequents say they will become customers as soon as he opens. He just hopes that others will find him in the cubbyhole behind the tattoo shop where he has set up his business because he sure doesn\u2019t have funds for advertising. His enthusiasm for his products\/services should be enough to carry him through the rough spots.<\/p>\n
How many of you recognize yourself in one of these scenarios? For those of you who are currently working on a book and hope to publish, does this open up a new way of viewing what\u2019s ahead for you? Are you preparing for success as a published author or do you plan to enter into the publishing arena with nothing more than unrealistic expectations?<\/p>\n
As with most things in life, your future success as an author (whatever success means to you) is in your hands.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s a hopeful author to do?<\/p>\n
\u2022\tIf you are in the process of writing a book, start studying the publishing industry now. Read my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Boo<\/em>k. It\u2019s discounted at: http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/rightway.html<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022\tSave up some money\u2014or go out and take a temporary job to earn some money to use in hiring a good editor. If you\u2019re ready for a free evaluation of your manuscript, a sample edit and an estimate for editing, contact me today: PLFry620@yahoo.com. Learn more about me and my work here: http:\/\/www.patriciafry.com<\/a> (Save money by self editing. Section on self-editing in the book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.)<\/p>\n \u2022\tWrite a book proposal (complete instructions in the book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book<\/em>). A book proposal will help you determine whether you have a viable book at all, who your audience is and how you will reach them. <\/p>\n There\u2019s a lot more to successful authorship, but this is a good start. I\u2019ll elaborate more in the coming week. Perhaps there are aspects of this topic you would like to see me cover. PLFry620@yahoo.com. Or leave a comment here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What have you done to promote your book today? This week? During the past month? If you haven\u2019t had many sales recently, your answer is probably in the form of an excuse, \u201cI\u2019ve been working a lot,\u201d \u201cI just haven\u2019t had time to promote,\u201d \u201cMy grandchildren are living with me now,\u201d \u201cMy husband is out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t