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Selling Your Book to Readers |
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Written by Tamara Mazzei
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Tuesday, 15 April 2008 |
New authors and publishers sometimes make the mistake of thinking that all they need to do to sell their books is to create them. After all, who wouldn't want to buy a book on "fill in name here."
In a few cases, that may be true, but in most cases, books are going to languish unless you can find a way to connect with readers. The Internet contains a lot of breathless advice for doing this -- Start a blog! Create a website! Send out review copies! Newsletters! Book signings! Press releases! And so on; the list is endless.
Do any of these things work? Maybe, but they can also be a waste of time and money, if you don't have a good understanding of what you're trying to accomplish. Oh, but you think you do – you're trying to publicize your book. Of course you are, but that still assumes that everyone will want to read it. Here is where you need a dose of reality; they won't.
Say, for example, the book is a novel set in the wild west. And, say, again, for example, you follow all that breathless advice listed above. You have a website and a blog; you've done a press release; you're ready to go with your newsletter. Maybe the readers will start rolling in, but what if they don't? Now what? Do you think they're going to Google "wild west" to find the next book they choose to read? That scenario is a lot more likely if the book were nonfiction, but for fiction, it isn't all that likely.
That's where the selling comes in. That's where you come in.
Finding Your AudienceWhen you are a small press or a self publisher, finding your audience can be the trickiest part of getting your books into the hands of readers. That isn't because the books aren't good or because the readers don't want them, but because it's difficult for readers to find out about them in the first place. Inexperienced publishers and authors shouldn't count on book signings because bookstores rarely want to arrange signings with unknown authors who are not backed by large publishers. This is because they know there isn't much chance that a small press will be able to guarantee a decent turnout.
Regional, rather than national, press release syndication tends to be a better bargain for small publishers because the competition outside of major metropolitan areas tends to be lower. Blogs that are narrowly focused on a book's topic of interest have more potential to generate interest than general author blogs unless the author is well-known for other endeavors. Linking to other blogs the cover similar interests and inviting reviews from those bloggers can be helpful as well.
And the most important thing? Patience. The sales cycle for small press books tends to be much much longer than for books from large publishers. To sell a book by a small press takes much longer, and it requires building up links and connections to readers who will recommend the book via word of mouth. For example, month over month sales for our most popular book continue grow, even four years after its original publication.
Give it time and hard work, and if it's good, it will sell. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 18 April 2008 )
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