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| You've Gotta' Sell 'Em for Others to Read 'Em! How a book is promoted may influence sales to surpass (sadly) the actual quality of the work. Sometimes I suspect this is the basic premise of the major publishing houses - the old "bottom line" syndrome. Push a crummy book hard enough, and anyone can make a profit. Going through the edit process for this page I noticed that almost every suggested action was an "I did." I started to rewrite the tips to the third person, then decided to leave the page as-is. These are actions I really did! - personal suggestions from one writer to another. Basically I followed Kremer's advice from his book, but here are the specific steps I took (I personally used the linked services, and got good service from each - but shop around for the best prices - people/markets always change.):
Press Packet - I have a press packet set up in a two-pocket folder that contains pages that basically are extracts of the information on this web site, leading off with bio info, a 5x7 color photo, info sheets on each book, workshop schedules and signing schedules. I send some or all of the above as the case warrants. I think the key is to think through the purpose of the packet and what the recipient would want and use, then make sure that info in in the folder. The real question is to whom do you give them? They are are a lot of trouble to produce so they look professional, so send them only to those who are going to promote your work such as reviewers, potential media interviewers, or others who might be able to make their job a little easier by lifting "bites" from what you have given them. My experience with book reviews of independently published books has been very poor. Reviewers are swamped, and many traditional reviewers such as your local paper refuse to cover self-published books, apparently viewing them with the old "vanity press" stigma, presuming independently published equates to bad/unmarketable book. Two exceptions are James Cox, the editor of Mid West Book Review, and MyShelf.com. But keep trying. Eventually a good book prevails! My own digital files were used to generate my promotional products since I have created covers myself and knew the resolution was adequate (300 dpi) to use the art in other media. I recommend each of the printing services above because I exchanged emails with each them beforehand and was certain of the quality I was getting in each case, partially as a result of their technical advice. I believe that each provider can also scan your original art work for an additional charge. Give yourself time to have this conversation before you need the final product, which goes along with the advice that marketing should start before or at least simultaneously with the printing of your book. MyDesign Studios offers an amazing amount of information that will help you understand the technicalities of printing and designing your art for print. Web sites deserve more than a paragraph, so I have moved all that information to their own page. I have recently started my own newsletter (see the Shark's Den at the bottom of the page) with contest giveaways. This is one that many people have used with great success. For me, another "We'll see." For personal promotion, try joining one of the many author's organizations and sites, several of which are represented by logos and links on this and other pages, to include Author's Den.Bottom line - again - prepare a marketing strategy and promotional plan at least as soon as you finish your book - independently published or not - and begin implementation before the books are available for sale.
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© 2000-2010 John M. Taylor |