What are you doing to promote your book(s)? Are you still trying to figure out a way to get them into bookstores?
I field a lot of questions for freelance writers and authors each week through SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network), through my web site and via links from some of my published articles. The majority of these questions relate to book promotion. Many of the authors want to know, “How can I get my book into bookstores?”
Typically, these authors have spent the last several years writing the book of their dreams and then they take just a few days to search for a publisher. They gleefully and gratefully sign up with the first fee-based publishing service (pay-to-publish company) that issues them a contract and assume that their book will be available in bookstores nationwide. Of course, they envision copies of their book flying off of bookstore shelves into the eager hands of thousands of readers. Their job now is to sit back and rake in the royalties, right? Not even.
Tell me now, at some point in the process of writing your book, did you ever look around a mega bookstore and consider the vast competition? Visualize your book in that bookstore. Think now, what would cause readers to find and purchase your book among the tens (or, in some cases, hundreds) of thousands of other books?
Few authors realize that booksellers rarely carry books produced through fee-based publishing services. I know, I know, this isn’t what the publisher told you. Likewise, booksellers avoid carrying self-published books (books you produced yourself). Some legitimate, traditional royalty publishers even have trouble getting books into bookstores. I’m telling you, the competition for space in the few bookstores that are left, is stiff. And books that are accepted by these mega booksellers had better fly off the shelf or else!
What happens to books that don’t sell well? They are promptly returned to the publisher for a refund and I mean promptly. You might only have a three to six month window of time to prove your book worthy of bookstore status. Unfortunately, this is true whether you have paid a publishing service to produce your book, you’ve self-published or you managed to land a major publisher.
You can prolong your book’s place on a bookstore shelf by bringing in customers. This does not mean soliciting your friends and family members to order the book over and over again. Publishers/authors who have been caught doing this sort of thing usually have their books banned from the bookstore thereafter. What I suggest is creating a buzz, getting exposure, establishing a name for yourself (your book), getting publicity… Do whatever it takes to attract customers to the bookstores that carry your books.
But don’t rely totally on bookstores to sell your books. Sure, pursue bookstores if you wish, but be aware that bookstores are not the be all, end all answer to book promotion. Upon your first inkling to become an author, start planning your book promotion strategy. There are many countless avenues for promotion outside of the bookstore. Discover them, study them and, if they are appropriate for your particular title, pursue them.
I will continue this post tomorrow. In the meantime, if you are an author, you are responsible for promoting your book. If you need help (and if you’re new at this or if your book isn’t selling, you do), order my book, Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for Promoting Your Book. It’s at Amazon. It’s also here: http://www.matilijapress.com