Okay, Hemingwaywantabes, for those who who want to know how to promote your damn book once you have written it, here’s the scoop.
If your publishing company funds the promotional campaign, you will gain needed exposure by working with them on a publicity campaign. If the publishing company can’t fund the campaign, or if you are traditionally self-published, consider expending funds to cover promotional costs. Outstanding public relations companies exist, but make certain they specialize in book promotion. Ask for references and copies of public relations campaigns they have designed for other authors or poets. This is also true with regard to those who will assist you with an internet campaign to promote your book. Have them send you a kit outlining exactly what they are going to do and how much it will cost.
Regardless of who is funding the promotional campaign, you must be clever to promote the book through any means possible. The saying, “The Lord helps those who help themselves,” is most appropriate. This includes all the internet possibilities including having a website, a blog, multiple blogs, You Tube, Facebook, etc. Email announcements and newsletter exposure also will help your cause.
One author who splashed onto the national scene through self-promotion was Terry McMillan. When Mama, her first novel was published in 1987, she handled the marketing and promotion for her book. She forwarded hundreds of letters to African-American organizations requesting them to promote the book.
McMillan contacted bookstores with requests for book signings. Her efforts resulted in appearances and readings across the country. Mama was a moderate success, but when Disappearing Acts, her second book, was released, additional recognition occurred. In 1992, Waiting To Exhale became a bestseller. Four years later, How Stella Got Her Groove Back proved McMillan, the self-promoter, was a literary star.
To circulate interest about your book, keep an “address book” listing every friend and acquaintance since childhood. When book signings or other promotional appearances are scheduled, mail invitations to everyone in the area you know. You will form a group of loyal readers who will purchase future books.
Free publicity is the author or poet’s best friend. Convince magazines or newspapers to print an excerpt from the book. To gain exposure, telephone radio shows, contact libraries to schedule readings, and work through local writer’s centers. Public speaking also provides the opportunity to promote the book.
Author or poet Internet websites are a must in the twenty-first century. Designing them has become an art form, and there are multiple companies available to assist the writer. How fancy the site is depends on your pocketbook, but you can promote your book online to enhance sales opportunities.
To further publicize a book, consider creating a full-color flyer, brochure, or a “One-Sheet” (book cover on one side—descriptive material about the book on the other). Postcards displaying the book cover can be forwarded to media outlets, prospective purchasers of the book, and friends.
Publicizing a book not yet in the bookstores is the kiss of death. If buyers interested in the book based on media exposure visit the store and the book is unavailable, chances are they will not return to buy it. Make certain the publisher and the bookstores coordinate stocking the book at least a month before the promotional campaign begins. If you decide to self-publish, consider handling the matter yourself.
Double-checking everything about your book signing is essential until the day it occurs. Make sure media exposure is secure and check the store a week or two before your book signing to see if posters are on the front window and displayed throughout the store. Most bookstores employ “community relations” managers to handle book signings, but they have many other duties. Good communication is a key to assurance that your book signing will be a success.
Regardless of how many books you sell at the book signing, request the opportunity, if it is not offered, to sign multiple books to be stocked in the store. Most stores do this as a courtesy, but publishers relish this opportunity since a signed book cannot be returned to them. This also applies to self-published authors or poets guaranteeing that you will be paid for the books left at the store.
If you are self-published, negotiate your share of the cover price with the bookstore. Splitting the revenue is fair, but many stores will permit you to keep as much as 70 percent.
If you appear for a book signing at a library or not-for-profit organization, consider donating a portion of the cover price. This promotes goodwill.
Most important, remember that you are your own best salesperson, and you believe in your book and its message more than anyone. So get busy, hemingwaywantabes – promote, promote, promote!!!
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