Some new authors come to us at SPAWN or contact me personally and say, “I have a book. How can I get it published?” They hope for a quick and easy answer that goes something like this: “Send your manuscript to xyz.com along with $300 and they will professionally edit your book, design a great cover, do page layout and produce 100 copies for you within the next two weeks.”
Authors also come to me asking, “How can I promote my book?” And they would love to hear, “Call this number and ask for Joe. He’ll get you on the Dr. Phil show and you won’t ever have to promote your book again.” Or they might be satisfied to hear, “Here, let me take over the promotion of your book for a fee of $25 per month. I’ll do all of the legwork and guarantee somewhere between 1,000 to 3,000 sales per quarter.”
Yeah, that’s what every author wants to hear. But this is not the reality of the matter. In fact, some authors, upon hearing the truth in publishing and book promotion, will just throw up their hands and quit.
That’s why I spend so much of my time and energy preaching to and teaching authors that they must study the publishing industry so they understand more about the process, the options and the author’s responsibilities as a published author. That’s why I try to encourage authors to be proactive in their research, careful when making choices and willing to stretch and grow in order to succeed.
As an author, you must approach publishing from a place of knowledge, not confusion. You need to understand your role as a published author from the very beginning. When you decide to write a book and publish it, hoping for wide distribution, you need more than a writer’s desire to share. If you weren’t born with a marketing gene or trained in marketing, you MUST develop this in yourself. If you do not care to get involved in promoting your book, then change your mind about producing it. Instead, write your book for family and friends, offer it as a free marketing tool for your business or plan to donate it to a charity.
Do not go into the business of publishing unless you are willing to face the hard work and difficult choices it takes to produce a book and embrace what comes next—book promotion.
I’m in Anchorage, Alaska today, preparing to present the keynote speech to open the Alaska Writer’s Guild Conference this morning. Weather is beautiful. It’s an absolutely spectacular area. And the people here are genuine and lovely. Yesterday I taught a 3-hour workshop and the reception was wonderful. Great group of authors and hopeful authors. And some of them had really great ideas for books. I sincerely hope that, after the workshop, they are looking at their projects with a lot more business sense and are already considering their marketing plan.
There is a bookstore here at the conference selling copies of my new book, Promote Your Book and their supply is dwindling mighty fast. Sales are brisk. Nice to see.
For much more about book promotion order my new book, Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author at Amazon.com. http://amzn.to/oe56Ia