It’s always fun to open a book, especially if you’re reviewing the book, and find your own book recommended or learn that you’ve been quoted. It happened to me this week. I made this discovery while reviewing C. Pinheiro and Nick Russell’s book, The Step-By–Step Guide to Self-Publishing for Profit. This book tells you how to start a home-based publishing company and publish your nonfiction book with CreateSpace and Amazon. And they recommend my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. They also quote me as an expert.
Read the review in the upcoming November edition of SPAWNews.
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You’re the Expert
Are you the author of a nonfiction book? How many other books have you and/or your book been mentioned in? Have authors of books on your topic quoted you? Do they recommend your book? If not, perhaps your promotional efforts are too limited and limiting.
Here’s what you want—when someone is researching a book on the topic of your book, whether it is gardening, quilting, skydiving, dog showing, child-rearing, allergies, traveling, religion, art, writing or some obscure subject, you want this author to know about you. You want them to value your book and your opinion so they will add your book or company to their resources list or even quote liberally from your book (with your permission, of course). You want to stand out as an expert on your subject, so much so that other experts rely on the research you have done and the knowledge you have accumulated over the years.
How do you manage this? Exposure, exposure, exposure.
• Become known at websites related to your topic.
• Arrange to present workshops at appropriate conferences.
• Write and submit articles on your subject—lots of them.
• Rent booths at book festivals and talk to hundreds of people.
• Comment on other experts’ blogs.
• Showcase your book and lots of appropriate resources at your amazing website.
• Join publishing organizations and those related to your topic.
Hey, this is the same thing I suggest when I rant about how to promote your book, isn’t it? Yup! It’s all part of the same process. Whether you want to make a difference, become known in your field and/or sell books, the bottom line is the same. You must understand the concept of exposure. You need to have a plan. It is imperative that you are consistent and persistent in your attempts to get exposure. And you really, really need tons of energy.
Are your book sales sluggish? Do you seldom, if ever, see your name listed in an article, on a website or in a book as an expert in your field? Are you at a loss as to how to promote your book. It’s not too late to sign up for my online Book Promotion course, in progress. The cut-off date for signing up is September 15th, 2009.
http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookpromotion.htm