\u201cHow can I possibly take time to promote a book?\u201d \u201cI have a life, you know.\u201d \u201cI wrote the book, isn\u2019t that enough? Now it\u2019s time for me to take my life back and collect royalties, right?\u201d \u201cAnyway, this book will sell itself!\u201d<\/p>\n
This is the mindset of many, many new authors. In fact, this is the reason why so many books fail in the marketplace. The figure used to be \u201cnearly 78%.\u201d Now, I understand the failure rate is closer to 98%. Shocking, but true.<\/p>\n
Actually, this is not so shocking to those of us who work with authors. Why? Because we know that most authors today enter into the publishing business with a hobby mentality. Everyone knows someone with a book in the works or one or two published books. Every celebrity, business guru, retired teacher, housewife, immigrant, former victim, extreme sportsperson, and ditch digger has a book out. There have always been people with life-changing experiences, and now, they\u2019re all writing their stories. Millions of men and women over the years have thought up stories for children or full-blown adult novels. But now those stories can easily become published books. There\u2019s nothing lacking in the ability to get a book idea into print or on a digital reader. It\u2019s as easy as slipping on a banana peel. What is lacking in most authors today is a business head.<\/p>\n
Finding and paying a printer or a publisher is a piece of cake. It\u2019s what comes after, that stops most unaware authors in their tracks. PROMOTION!<\/p>\n
I maintain that promotion should start the moment you decide to write that book. The first thing you should think about is often the last thing you consider\u2014your audience. Most authors write the book he or she wants\u2014they write for themselves. Once the book is published, THEN they begin thinking about their audience. It doesn\u2019t work that way, folks. You wouldn\u2019t open any other type of business without first knowing something about the business, your potential customers and their needs\/desires, your competition, your distributors and suppliers, as well as what it will take to reach your particular customers.<\/p>\n
Well, news flash: Publishing is a business and those who succeed are those who step into it with a business mindset.<\/p>\n
Those authors who often fail first are those who write something they hope will change minds\u2014they are bent on forcing their opinions on readers. Another group whose failure rate is high are those who write their memoir, giving a lot of uninteresting facts and family history that readers can\u2019t connect with or learn from.<\/p>\n
To learn more about publishing and book promotion read my books, \u201cPublish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author,\u201d and \u201cPromote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author.\u201d http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com<\/a>. Also available are a series of ebooks for $1.99 each. They include \u201c50 Ways to Promote Your Book,\u201d \u201c50 Ways to Promote an Ebook,\u201d \u201c50 Reasons Why You SHOULD Write That Book\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been writing for publication for over 40 years. I earned my living as a freelance writer for decades and I\u2019m the author of 48 books. I established my own publishing company in 1983, before it was fashionable. While many of my books are self-published\u2014through my publishing company, Matilija Press\u2014I\u2019ve also published with traditional publishers. I was President and then Executive Director of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) for over ten years and I now work for and with other authors on their writing projects. I\u2019ve also begun dabbling in fiction. Check out my Klepto Cat Mystery series\u2014there are 8 published so far. http:\/\/amzn.to\/1kAI8I2<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cHow can I possibly take time to promote a book?\u201d \u201cI have a life, you know.\u201d \u201cI wrote the book, isn\u2019t that enough? Now it\u2019s time for me to take my life back and collect royalties, right?\u201d \u201cAnyway, this book will sell itself!\u201d This is the mindset of many, many new authors. In fact, this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"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