What good is promotion? You may sometimes wonder why you spend so much time promoting your book when it seems for naught. You create press releases and send them out, sit for long days at book festivals, talk about your book all the time and you even have a few copies in book and specialty stores downtown. But sales are sluggish and you are discouraged. Is it time to stop the madness? Should you just forget about becoming a successful author?
Welllll, let’s see. Is that what you really want to do? Or would you rather open your mind and try to discover WHY your book isn’t selling? Here are some possibilities:
• It isn’t a subject or angle that is of interest to very many people. I met a doctor a while back who is working on a book on vital organs. He told me the book would be for the layperson and he planned to market it to a general audience. I think this author will have more success if he creates booklets—one on each organ and then makes them available through doctors’ offices, pharmacies, online health/medical sites and so forth. If he comes out with the book he plans and tries to market it to the general public, I think he will be terribly disappointed in the results of his efforts. This is a case of the wrong book marketed to the wrong audience.
• The cover is blah and uninteresting. I’ve read many books by authors I’ve met through SPAWN, at book festivals and at writers’ conferences that I would probably never have bought, but I very much enjoyed reading. Why wouldn’t I have purchased the book? Because the cover was not enticing. I’m working with an author now who had someone (obviously not a professional) design a cover for his upcoming book. I was able to convince him that the cover was pretty awful. He had a cartoonish style for a book on a rather serious topic. The design gave absolutely no indication of the book’s true purpose or focus. Fortunately for him, he listened to reason and created a much crisper, more simple design for his book before publication—one that is conducive to the theme of the book. A good cover designer might charge up to $3,000, but, if you have a quality book on a topic or in a genre that is wanted/needed, and you promote adequately, you will earn that money back in a year or so—maybe less.
• The book has not been professionally edited. Way too many authors skip this step or hire the wrong editor. This is usually because they are in a hurry to get it published. Think about it, what is your impression when you start reading a book that’s riddled with spacing, typing, spelling and grammatical errors? Isn’t it distracting? It takes away from the story. And when the story doesn’t flow nicely or the material in a reference book isn’t organized appropriately, the reading experience isn’t as enjoyable or productive. A good book editor might cost you anywhere from $500 to $3,000, depending on the shape of your manuscript. If you skip this step, you will certainly regret it as reviewers refuse to review it or they point out the clutter of errors; readers won’t recommend your book and it isn’t accepted in book clubs, libraries, school districts, etc.
You have a huge responsibility as an author. And I can tell you that the effort and, yes, money you put into your book during the production phase is almost as important as the energy and time you pour into the promotion of your book.
Some of you have run businesses before. Many of you know people who are successful in business. Do you know of anyone who was successful in business and who went into that business without knowledge of the industry, a plan and funding? You need these three things whether you open a restaurant, a pet spa, a computer repair company, a nursery, a daycare center, a tax service or a retail store. And your business, like your book, must have a welcoming and professional persona about it.
Cut corners with your business—neglect to have the necessary equipment or space, show up to work in your upscale retail store wearing dirty sweats and flip flops, slap up a hand-painted sign made of butcher paper identifying your business—and you are not going to attract the clientele you hoped for.
How many ways have I attempted to make this point in this blog, books, articles and presentations over the years? Yet, I still see authors making the same mistakes. Why? Some of them do not study the industry until after they’ve produced a book. And some just don’t have or don’t want to spend the money to do their book up right.
Folks, don’t cut corners with your magnificent masterpiece. If it is worth publishing, it is worth publishing it in its full splendor.
Whether you are just starting to write a book, you’re almost finished or you have been involved in book promotion for a while, order and read my latest book: Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author. http://amzn.to/oe56Ia
Read all 19 reviews at the Amazon book page. And contact me if you have any questions: PLFry620@yahoo.com
If you need additional assistance jump-starting the promotion of your book or if you’d like to learn how to build your author’s platform, sign up for the appropriate online course at http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm
For my FREE ebooklet, “50 Reasons Why Your SHOULD Write That Book,” go to: http://www.patriciafry.com