So you’ve finished your nonfiction book. What are you going to do next?
Promote, promote, promote. Yes, there’s a whole lot to do in order to introduce your book to your audience and to become known (or more widely known) as credible on the topic of your book. You need to get out and speak to the public, rack up reviews, dabble in social media, etc.
But one way to gain even more credibility in your field or area of interest and sell more books is to produce a spin-off book or booklet. Most of my books relate to publishing and book promotion. Since I have been coming out with new and revised books on this subject for over a dozen years, my contact list has grown and my exposure level has increased. And when I bring a new book out, that is a new reasons to contact my list and go out and speak to new (and old) groups on a new topic. Someone who benefited from one of my books will often purchase another one.
Can you see how additional books create additional opportunities and, of course sales?
How does one come up with ideas for spin off books? When you write a complete and detailed book on a subject and you feel you put your all into it, it is sometimes difficult to come up with another book idea within that topic. But just think a little harder about it. For example, I wrote the comprehensive history of the Ojai Valley, California. Later, I came out with two follow-up (but stand alone) books on the local pioneer cemetery. In the first cemetery book, I wrote a more in-depth history of the cemetery and profiled the earliest burials there up to about 1900. Then I wrote a second book featuring burials through 1920 and included the history of a long-forgotten Catholic cemetery. I could go on and write a book featuring just local historic buildings, early businesses in the Ojai Valley, a more in-depth history of private schools here, stories emanating from the local mountains surrounding the valley, ghost stories, etc.
Let’s say that you’ve written a book featuring rainy day activities for kids. You could do spin off books for summertime activities, activities for kids while camping or traveling, sick day activities, activities the kids can involve their grandparents in, a birthday party activities book, gift ideas kids can make and so forth. Now you’ve pretty much established a brand for yourself—the author of activity books for kids.
Your book on living green could be expanded into a handful of books, each featuring a different aspect of green living, such as recycling, creative ways to save water, community activities for sharing green living tips, etc.
If you have written a book of cat stories—collect more cat stories (it’s easy once you start talking to your readers), write stories about dogs, horses, birds…
If you need help coming up with spin-off book ideas for your main book, comment here and let my blog followers help.
In the meantime, if you have a completed book, get oodles of book promotion help and instruction through my book, Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author. It’s available at amazon.com in print and Kindle and most other online and downtown bookstores. You can also purchase it from my website: http://www.matilijapress.com