Best-Selling Book Secrets

Best-Selling Book Secrets

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Everyone says, “Some day I’m going to write a book,” but few
actually do. So congratulations on a noteworthy achievement! Now
that you’re holding your book in your hands, after years of
research, writing, editing and rewriting, the last words you’ll
want to hear are, “That was the easy part.” Well, unfortunately,
that was the easy part. Unless you don’t mind your only fans
being family and close friends, or unless you’re already a
celebrity with a big publishing house behind you, your new
challenge will be letting the world know about your book so
someone will actually read (a.k.a. buy) what you’ve so
laboriously created. And the hard reality is that, in the
madness of today’s publishing environment, the onus for
successful book promotion lies almost exclusively with the
author. Whether you fought your way through to a mainstream
channel or decided to self-publish-whether you’ve written a
self-help tool or a novel-odds are good that a publicist won’t
be calling you tomorrow morning with a jam-packed itinerary of
book signings and television interviews. Some of you may have a
little help if you’re mainstream, but all of you will carry the
lion’s share. So, where do you begin? First of all, your book is
no longer “your baby,” but a business-and as with any business,
you must have a Marketing Plan. Number One in your plan should
be creating a website that will help facilitate everything else
we’ll cover in this article. If you already have a website
(business or otherwise), add a banner headline announcing
publication on your Home page. If you don’t have a website
and/or don’t know how to create one, Google how to create a
website, and plenty of user-friendly links will come up. The
point is that your website should showcase your book as the
feature, and you should offer the book for sale right there.
Sign up for a Pay Pal account, if you don’t already have one
(www.paypal.com ). This is an easy,
affordable way for you to offer buyers a means to pay with a
credit card, and that feature alone will help drive more books
out the door. Next you’ll need to develop a Sell Sheet
consisting of: a) a summary of your book in 50 words or less; b)
an author biography in one paragraph; and c) your field of
expertise and how that relates to your book (not always relevant
with fiction). Then identify your Target Audience-the “who” you
had in mind while you were writing. If you’ve written a novel,
will interested readers be male or female, young, middle-aged or
seniors, action or romance devotees? If your book is
non-fiction, are you targeting a certain business or profession?
Do you already have a client or seminar base that will be a
built-in market? If you don’t have a built-in base, what media
outlets (radio, television, print) will help you build one, and
which will be relevant and feasible? How do you get to Book
Reviewers? (Reviews are golden, even if they’re not glowing-and
reviews are mandatory for success. Without them, you don’t get
interviews, and the good ones become marketing tools.) Each
category and media market, by the way, can be easily researched
via the Internet, and each will have to receive a Review Copy of
your book. Once your target audience is clear, identify your
book’s Position with a single sentence that explains why someone
would want to buy your book over others in the same category.
This is an extremely important element because, with every
Review Copy you send out, you’ll have between 5 and 15 seconds
to catch someone’s attention. Finally (and you’ve probably
figured this out already), you need to decide how much money
you’re able and willing to spend on your book promotion. Guess
who buys all those Review Copies, for example? You’ll also need
business cards (focused solely on your book), bookmarks, “Just
Published” posters, announcement post cards, travel expenses and
so forth. But before you send out for oxygen, this new challenge
isn’t as daunting as you may think, because the majority of
Best-Sellers begin their successes locally. Your first contact
won’t be to the New York Times, but rather your local newspaper.
Send a copy of your Press Release (similar to your Sell Sheet
but a more familiar format to the media). If you Google how to
write a press release, you’ll find a wealth of tutorials. Then
use a “local author” angle to approach the Manager or Event
Coordinator in nearby book stores (small independent book
sellers and big chains like Barnes & Noble), first about
scheduling a book signing, and second about stocking your book
on their shelves. (The former will be easier than the latter.)
Check each store’s Event Calendar and attend several book
signings to see how they’re done. When you have a signing
scheduled, send invitations! Include everyone you’ve ever known,
if you can afford the stamps. Although you’ll want to do a
broadcast email to announce your book’s publication, signing
events require old-fashioned invitations to bolster turnout. The
book store(s) will also do a little advertising (usually very
little, i.e., a flyer by the cash register), but your best hope
for a large crowd resides in the people you already know. Use
your successes with local papers and book stores to secure
interviews with other media outlets. Google to seek out venues
in your area such as noon television news broadcasts and radio
talk shows that are willing to feature new authors. Remember,
every contact you make-through media, book stores, book
reviewers, libraries, everyone-will need to receive a Review
Copy of your book. Be sure to write REVIEW COPY in big, black
magic marker letters on the inside front cover to minimize
bootleg sales of all the books you’re sending out. Distribute
widely and generously all of your other promotional materials,
as well (Sell Sheets, Press Release, Business Cards…), and never
travel without two copies of your book. Take a handful on your
vacation. You just never know when a future fan will be standing
in front of you. This local focus will not only build success
from the inside out, but will also help minimize cash outlays
for airfare and hotels in the beginning. At the same time,
however, expand your base by listing your book for sale on sites
like Amazon and eBay (both sites have links that walk you
through the process), and by entering your book in contests
(have four or five on-going at any given time). Google again for
those contests germane to your book, but research the sponsoring
organization(s) before entering. Some are less reputable than
others. Contests offer tremendous publicity potential, though,
and many judges return valuable comments whether you win
anything or not. Lastly, set up an automatically inserted tag
line promoting your book at the bottom of every email you
generate. That’s free advertising that could circle the globe.
Obviously, the how-to’s of book promotion could fill volumes-but
the short version begins and ends with you. If you believe with
a passion that your book can be a Best-Seller, then others will
believe, too. Just keep in mind that, as with any project or
craft, the devil is in the details. Orchestrating a book
promotion can be a little like managing a goat rodeo, if all the
basics aren’t in place. Make your plan, have your props, and
then start calling on your local segment of the world. Every
success will breed another, and the boundaries of “local” will
continue to expand as far as you wish to push them. Of course,
none of this happens overnight, and wisdom suggests putting your
plans in motion while the book is still in the production cycle.
Then allow yourself a few captivating moments when you first
hold the “real thing” in your hands. Celebrate and feel that
well-deserved pride. Okay. Time’s up. The window of marketing
opportunity is the first year after publication, which doesn’t
leave room for many wasted days. Even though writing your book
was the easy part, selling your book is the fruitful part-and
nothing compares to the sound of someone saying, “I bought your
book, loved it, and recommended it to my friends.” May those
words ring familiar time and again along your personal path to
your own Best-Seller!