You wrote an amazing book, designed it to perfection and even managed to get it published. But it isn’t selling as well as you thought it would. What went wrong?
Here are seven common mistakes that authors make:
1: The author writes the wrong book for the wrong audience. Way too many authors write the book they want to write without truly considering their audience.
2: The author doesn’t know that he is responsible for promotion. Obviously, this author didn’t take the time and initiative to study the publishing industry or he would have known that his job isn’t over once the book is published.
3: The author neglects to build promotion into his book while he’s writing it. Savvy authors think about their target audience while they are writing and designing their books.
4: The author neglects to establish a platform. Many new authors don’t know what a platform is. It’s the author’s following, his reach, his way of attracting his audience. Most successful authors today have a platform in place before they produce a book.
5: The author has unrealistic expectations. Many first-time authors (we’ve all been there) expect to sell their books by the truckloads through mega bookstores. They believe that any good book will be eagerly welcomed by bookstore owners and managers. The reality is that few people outside of traditional royalty publishers with track records can get new books into bookstores—no matter how brilliant and beautiful they are.
6: The author gives promotion just a lick and a promise and then wonders why his book didn’t “take off.” Authors need to understand that book promotion is ongoing. It should start before you write the book and continue for as long as you want to sell books.
7: The author gives up. I can’t tell you how often I hear this from disillusioned authors, “I can’t sell my book, so what’s the use?” There’s one thing for sure; you won’t achieve the level of success you desire if you quit. Successful promotion takes time, energy, patience and lots of persistence.
There’s a lot to contemplate when entering the huge and competitive business of publishing. And promotion is a major consideration. Whether you land a traditional royalty publisher, self-publish (establish your own publishing company) or go with a fee-based POD publishing service, it is up to you—the author—to promote your book. And the time to start thinking about promotion is before you ever sit down and put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard.
Learn more about the publishing industry, your options and your responsibilities as a published author by reading my book: The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.
http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html
If you’ve already produced a book and it is faltering and you are struggling, read my ebook which is designed to breathe new life into a failing book: The Author’s Repair Kit.
http://www.matilijapress.com/author_repairkit.html