If you’ve been to a writers conference or club meeting, if you’ve read any books or newsletters on the topic of publishing, even if you’ve only spoken to an author or two while on your writing/publishing journey, you’ve heard the term book promotion. Unless you’ve done your writing in a cave without Internet service a million miles from civilization, you know book sales rely on exposure and that exposure relies on some sort of promotional efforts. The more studying you’ve done—the more publishing information you’ve perused or listened to—the greater depth of understanding you have about the necessity to promote your book. Yet, some of you still refuse to accept this fact.
You go merrily about your writing business—forgetting that, if you plan to publish, writing actually IS a business. When you do publish, you wonder why your book isn’t selling, why it isn’t getting reviews, why you haven’t been invited to do interviews, why no one is blogging about your book, why you feel like a failure. I can tell you why. It’s because no one knows about your book.
If yours is a viable product—a well-written book with an audience—there’s no reason why it should fail in the marketplace unless…and this is a big “unless”…unless you are not promoting the book.
Some authors do a few promotional activities when their book comes out. They build a website; email their friends; carry the book with them to show off at organized and chance meetings; show up at the next writers club meeting; and maybe even set up a book signing at a local bookstore. Whew! That was a busy few weeks and maybe even strenuous. The author feels he has satisfied his obligation to promote his book and he goes back to his life. Several weeks, months, years, down the road, he wonders why his book isn’t selling. What went wrong? Is it too late to repair the damage? In a word, “NO!”
I plan to write more about book promotion in coming weeks—so stay tuned to this blog. In the meantime, here are links to a few articles you might find interesting.
http://www.matilijapress.com/articles/BookPromotionPlan.htm
http://www.matilijapress.com/articles/BookPromotionoOpportunitiesMissed.htm
By the way, the bio at the end of the articles is old—let me catch you up: Patricia Fry has been writing for publication for over 40 years. She has 57 books to her credit, including several books for authors and 15 books in her Klepto Cat Mystery series. She is the past Director of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writer’s Network) and a member of several writing/publishing organizations. She continues to coach and guide her editing clients through the choppy waters of publishing and book promotion. PLFry620@yahoo.com