I get questions from authors and hopeful authors. As you can imagine, many of them relate to book promotion. Some of those who contact me have read my book, “Promote Your Book,” and still feel lost when it comes to promoting their books.
Some of them are resistant to the concept and the process of marketing. They find it distasteful and/or overwhelming. They contact me in hopes of learning an easier way or to have me give them a step-by-step diagram that will lead to major sales.
In some cases, the author should have stepped back BEFORE producing the book, hired a good book editor and studied the genre/topic of their proposed book to learn if it was one they could sell. And they really should have studied the concept and process of book promotion before ever deciding to produce a book.
Too many authors approach publishing from the wrong angle. They come up with an idea or an idea takes over their senses and they must write and publish this book—it becomes an obsession. When they finally get in touch with reality, it is often too late. They have poured a lot of money into having their book produced and now they discover that they don’t have a market for it. Or they realize that the best methods of promotion for this book go totally against their grain. Sure they will promote it, if they really have to, but only within their comfort zone and only for as long as they want.
And they wonder why nearly seventy-eight percent of authors today sell fewer than 100 books total.
Read “Publish Your Book” by Patricia Fry before ever deciding whether or not to produce a book. You will have the opportunity to see the big picture. You will understand how to write the right book for the right audience and market it to them. If you will also accept the fact that the author is responsible for promoting his or her book and that book promotion is seriously intense work, you may be one of 2013’s more successful authors.
I write books for you. I have learned over many years in this industry what you need to know before you launch out with a book of your own. Give yourself a gift this holiday season. Purchase or ask for “Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author.” Available at amazon.com and most other online and downtown bookstores. You can also purchase it at http://www.matilijapress.com