I read survey results yesterday indicating what I’ve been telling you for a while—personality sells books. Authors claim they sell more books through personal appearances than any other way. This might include the following:
• Public speaking.
• Workshops and presentations at appropriate conferences.
• Setting up your own workshops.
• Teaching adult education classes in your topic/genre.
• Signings.
• Book festivals/flea markets.
• Podcasts, webinars, etc.
• Radio/TV appearances.
• Casual conversation.
I maintain that you can build your platform using these same activities even before your book is a book.
Let’s say that your book features stories of animal adoption. Shouldn’t you be out talking to animal lovers, rescue people, shelter volunteers and so forth even before your book is out? Maybe you’re writing a book on budgeting for the college student using student loans. The more publicity you can get for the book before it is out, the easier it will be to promote it and the more likely that you will land a traditional publisher. If you are writing a novel, what’s to stop you from building your platform while in the writing process? The more people who see you, hear you, talk to you and feel they know you, the stronger your platform and the larger your immediate audience base.
What can a novelist talk about before she has a book to talk about?
• The process of writing a novel.
• Interesting tidbits related to the theme of the book (1920s gangsters, Civil War history, period clothing styles, courting practices in the 1800s…).
• The back-story for your story.
• Little known facts about famous authors in your genre.
• How to set up a murder scene—all of the details you have to consider.
• Mistakes in some well-known mystery novels.
Use your imagination to come up with good information or stories and good reasons to go out and talk about them—yes, even before your book is a book.
For more about using your personality and your imagination to build your platform and to promote your book, order my new book today.
Talk Up Your Book, How to Sell Your Book Through Public Speaking, Interviews, Signings, Festivals, Conferences and More. To order at Amazon, type in the title, “Talk Up Your Book” and my name, “Fry.” Or order it from my website: http://www.matilijapress.com