Marketing is the bugbear of many creative types, to the extent where the shy introverted writer is almost a cliché. Several excellent volumes take this fear and help the writer to run with it.
Every author needs to know something about the business of book marketing. Even if she is published by a conventional publishing house, the onus of promotion may fall squarely in her court. By gaining even a rudimentary sense of some of the many things an author can do to promote her book, she is ahead of the competition.
Jump-Start Your Book Sales: A User-Friendly Manual for Book Marketing
The Ross book is a thematic guide to different venues for marketing, everything from getting radio and TV interviews to specialty sales in gift and other specialty stores. The book starts with some general pointers and then covers topics in considerable depth, not just describing them but also explaining how the author can use that particular medium to further his readership.
Each chapter is full of resources and finishes with some light-hearted quips. The topics also build on one another for a logical read, with no concepts left to guesswork. The easy-reading style of this book marketing manual belies the richness of the information inside and its reader will want to keep a notebook and pen nearby.
1001 Ways to Market Your Books: Resource List for Book Marketing
Updated in 2006, John Kremer’s book does exactly what its title promises. Split up by theme, it presents 1001 ideas for marketing books. Like the Ross manual, this book should be read with pen and paper nearby, because it inspires. Even if the self-publisher only does one marketing task per day, the author suggests, he is far ahead of his competition.
Marketing is an ongoing process and with this book at hand there is little excuse to not do something about promotions. Covering the basics and some offbeat but workable ideas, the book is tailored specifically to authors but can also be used as a springboard for anyone wishing to sell more products.
The Publishing Game: Guide to Producing and Marketing Books
Fern Reiss‘ simple 30-day guides to publishing books are an excellent help for new self publishing authors. There are two books in the series, and the second one, Bestseller in 30 Days, will be useful to any author, no matter her method of publishing. While the first book in the series mostly deals with the mechanics of self publishing, it does have some marketing material. The second book, however, mostly deals with the task of turning that book into a bestseller, something that can be achieved with consistent and determined marketing. The book breaks the process of building a bestseller into 30 steps, one to be performed each day.
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