Book Marketing 101
© 2010, Charles S. Weinblatt
Smashwords Edition
Congratulations! You have found a publisher. Or, you have decided to sell your book electronically. You are a published author! What's next? What will your publisher do? What should you do to sell your book?
As a general rule, fiction is more difficult to sell. Fiction writers should consider finding a traditional publisher. Very few self-published fiction books are successful. Non-fiction can be easier to sell, particularly if you are a subject matter expert or when you can sell the book on your own.
Authors covet traditional (trade) publishers because those publishers are experts in taking a book from manuscript to retail stores with perfection. Readers love trade-published books because they have that special mark of approval that says, “An independent publisher values this work.” No matter how many articles you might have read about the enticement of self-publishing, trade publishers know how to distribute and market a book. They can accomplish it with high quality and in a timely manner. Trade publishers have the best graphic artists, editors, printers, distribution channels and retail connections. That's why you should be willing to share some of the profit with them.
That being said, there are some very good reasons to self-publish. If you can sell plenty of books on your own, as a teacher, professor, public speaker, seminar leader or in any other format, then you should consider self-publishing. For example, I taught job seeking skills for several years. I then began a consulting practice helping laid off employees acquire the skills necessary to get back in the workforce. I wrote a textbook called Job Seeking Skills for Students. Not only did I use the book as part of the seminar, I persuaded a professor at my university to use it with graduate students in counseling. The book was trade published. But if I had a chance to self-publish it back in 1985, it would have made perfect sense. Why share the profit when you can keep all of it?
Without a publisher, you would need to be an expert, or hire an expert in cover art, graphic design, editing, printing, garnering excellent reviews, acquiring global distribution channels, web site design, marketing to retail booksellers, creating high quality video book trailers and all facets of sales. Very few excellent writers are also experts in all of those areas. And, even if you were an expert in all of those fields, would you have the time to accomplish all of those tasks, as well as stock and restock retail stores? In today's highly competitive and rapidly changing retail book market, even trade publishers cannot do everything. So, unless your last name is King or Clancy, you will need to chip in with some time and effort to make your book a smashing retail success.
What can you expect from your publisher? A trade publisher will edit your book, create cover art, print the books, contract with distributors and then place your book on the Internet sites of Amazon, Borders, Barnes & Noble, Wal-Mart, Target and other major global retailers. Your publisher will market your book globally and arrange for translation rights and distribution in all relevant countries. The publisher will then process the books to sales outlets and restock them on a regular basis. Your publisher may also promote your book at key international book fairs, through catalog distribution, via e-mail and fax blasts, generate media publicity, arrange book tours, create a web site, solicit compelling reviews and arrange bookstore signings. And, despite all of this effort on the part of your publisher, you'll receive royalties, which a pretty nice feeling.
However, in today's ever-changing retail book market, a great deal of additional work remains to be done by the author. Much of this is electronic “social network” marketing. Because of the changing nature of the publishing world and the revolution in electronic book purchasing, someone needs to market your book throughout the Internet world. Because this work is extremely labor-intensive and detail-oriented, few publishers have the staff, time, or enthusiasm to make it happen. This is where the author must step in, with the motivation to work hard on behalf of his or her book. The bad news is that there is a lot of work for the author to do. The good news is that almost no expertise or money is required to accomplish these vital tasks.