The first edition of your guide to marketing books in the christian marketplace was published in 2006. This workshop will address how to increase your audience, visibility. Apr 01, 2020 a good book cover sells, a great book cover sells better, and a smart author knows thats a big step in how to market a selfpublished book the right way. Find out more about marketing and promotion for your self published book in this live video broadcast. Many, if not most authors who selfpublish for the first time make mistakes. This is a vital step in the promotion and marketing of your book, andif done rightwill make the rest of the process infinitely easier. In my case, considering the nature of my fulltime job, i. But if its your goal to reach readers other than friends and family, then selfpromotion is a must. Free option requires 14 day advance submission and is not guaranteed, paid option requires 24 hours notice and is guaranteed. How to list and sell your selfpublished book on amazon. Moreover, smith publicity is widely credited with pushing the credibility of selfpublished book authors to new levels. Listed below are some book marketing ideas and strategies that you should take into consideration while marketing your self published book on your own, 1. Still, stories of booksespecially selfpublished bookssucceeding without any marketing, are rare. Getting your selfpublished book into libraries the.
Lets go through a quick list of some tips and tricks you can employ to help make marketing your book more successful. Youve written a book and have published, or have a contract to publish, with an independent publishing service or small press congratulations. As a self published author, you should know as much about marketing your book as you do about writing it. Most published authors, especially of the first time variety, wont have access to a fullsuite of marketing. Book marketing and promotion provide the most traction for your book, but most self published authors and small independent publishers do not have large budgets to pay for extravagant book marketing campaigns. Services like and amazons createspace mean its never been easier to. One of the best ways to do this is to utilize the search inside feature that allows people to browse through your books contents and sample pages. Whether youre working with a traditional publisher or youre going the selfpublishing route, one things the same. Marketing your book for selfpublishers and indie authors. Dec 17, 2016 karen inglis is a successful selfpublished childrens author with close to 10,000 sales across five titles.
Include a teaser chapter for another of your ebooks at. With options to publish as a kindle e book, print book, or convert your story to an audiobook, amazon kdp kindle direct publishing is an affordable way to potentially reach hundreds of thousands of readers. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading how i sold 80, 000 books. Karen inglis is a successful selfpublished childrens author with close to 10,000 sales across five titles.
Book marketing for selfpublished authors marketing takes planning, organization, and consistent action. Marketing self published books is not easy, especially when you are a new author. Marketing your selfpublished book is a time consuming and difficult job. Successfully market your selfpublished book with smith publicity. As a selfpublished author, you should know as much about marketing your book as you do about writing it. Most books, even good ones, will languish, invisible among millions of available titles, unless you do something to make them stand out and become visiblediscoverableto some target audience. Book marketing for authors self publishing through amazon and other retailers. Getting your selfpublished book into libraries the writing.
He tells all his fortyplus authors sell one book at a time. Before you publish a book or before you even start writing it. Marketing selfpublished books explained in 9 basic steps. Its important that you know what your audience is already paying for similar stories. Here, donna faz imparts her triedandtrue selfpublished author wisdom about diy distribution and marketing. Jul 15, 2014 marketing a book is supposed to be the hardest part of self publishing. With that said, lets look at ways of promoting your book and getting people to find you as an author, and your books, of course. Getting your books into libraries might not seem as glamorous as a store window. In this post, well discuss top digital marketing strategies to include in your book marketing plan. Inkitt is a publishing company that will not only submit your book to their thousands of readers for free legit but will also offer you a publishing deal worth thousands of dollars if their readers like it you win because you get your book out in front of a lot of people, increase your. Self published book marketing for authors smith publicity.
Five simple ways to promote your selfpublished book. Identify yo ur target reader, find out where he is, and think like that reader in every aspect of your marketing. The book marketing services at outskirts press help authors promote highquality books with exceptional book marketing services. How to market selfpublished books in the digital world.
Just like learning to write well and honing your craft, marketing also takes education and preparation but iuniverse is here to help. Write the best book you canthen, write your next one. Nov 18, 2014 marketing your self published book involves a lot of focused work, typically as much work as it took to write the book in the first place. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Dance because you can was represented at the national book fair in new york city. If you are just starting your selfpublishing journey you might as well get our 2018s best selfpublishing resources article.
Marketing is the one aspect authors, again and again, lament gives them the biggest headaches. Marketing plays a huge role in any books success, but this is especially true for selfpublished books. How to selfpublish your book by jan yager is a complete road map to becoming a successfully selfpublished author. John kremer, author of 1001 ways to market your books and editor of the book marketing tip of the week newsletter. While writing tends to be a solitary endeavor, marketing is the process of. I am proud to say i made back the money i invested in the book, plus more. Smith publicity has promoted more selfpublished books than any book publicity agency. If theres one question that is eternal and ongoing in our author community, then its how to sell more books sales are always on our mind and wherever we are in the bestseller chart, we look a little enviously at those above us in this article, we have ideas and solutions for you 50 of them in fact which should be more than enough ways to promote your book. But if you are publishing by yourself and wish to be read by as many among your target audience as possible, you will have to. Marketing books in the christian marketplace by sarah bolme. It is completely normal because you are trying to do something. Include a teaser chapter for another of your e books at. Book marketing for selfpublished authors best strategies.
The bottom line is to practice selling your books one by one. Mar 14, 2018 we have to do things right and set our efforts up for long term sales. Before you can sell your book, you need to market it. Jun 25, 2019 for self published books, some or all of the traditional book marketing functions may be made available from a self publishing service or from other book publishing consultants at a cost. Now take the next step to market and promote your book. Prepublication copies manuscripts or galleys may be sent to famous or influential people, along with a request for a blurb. How to land an agent for a selfpublished book jane friedman.
Before you price your selfpublished book, you should also check out the competition. When i heard that karen inglis was releasing how to selfpublish and market a childrens book i invited her along to talk about the particular problems that selfpublishers of. Chances are, youre working with a smaller publisher that has an even smaller marketing. Here are a few of the best ways to promote and sell your selfpublished book. Here are a few of the best ways to promote and sell your self published book. Sep 19, 2017 book marketing consultant tim grahl defines your platform as whatever plan and methods you use to connect with readers and sell books. Once your book is listed on amazon, you will want to spruce up the book details page to help sell your selfpublished book. Sep 12, 2019 boost your books success and sell more copies of your book by following 20 marketing tips and tactics for selfpublishing authors. Many selfpublished authors have no interest in sales, advertising, or business in general, as they tend to be altruistically artistic. Whether youre working with a traditional publisher or youre going the self publishing route, one things the same.
Jan 22, 2009 even before you publish your book, you need to think about how you will sell it. Check out these tips and discover how to promote your book successfully. Nov 01, 2018 there are successful selfpublishers in every niche, but authors of childrens books face more challenges than most both on the publishing and marketing side. Originally published by a traditional publisher, fasano decided to go the selfpublishing route and is now making a living off her books. No matter what youve written, you have competitors vying for the attention of the same audience. However, if you dont get the following nine marketing strategy basics right first, you could be wasting a lot of your time, energy and money. Once your book is in their system its in there for as long as your book is in print and the library sees there are readers for it.
But the good news is that marketing is also about fostering connections and relationships, which can be rewarding to you and your fan base. She regularly goes into primary schools and has held many book signings in waterstones and independent bookshops across southwest london. The author writes childrens books and has been an independent publisher as well as a coach for authors seeking to do the same. Walk into your local library and ask them to order your book. There are hundreds of ways to market selfpublished books. For many selfpublished authors, book marketing can be intimidating. But however youre coming around to being an author, understanding the traditional functions of book marketing will help you navigate the publication of. Apr 02, 2020 book marketing for selfpublished authors marketing takes planning, organization, and consistent action.
With a few key steps, an author can build a loyal following, get the word out about his or her work, and get. The book was also the 2019 evvy award winner for best selfhelp. Aug 01, 20 promote and market your book like a master. What distinguishes jan yagers how to self publish your book from other books on self publishing are the sections on writing, editing, getting permissions, creating sell sheets, and designing your book. The paid option includes your book being promoted to over 60 facebook groups. Find out who your book appeals to, get to know those people well, and be where they are, both online and off. How to get your selfpublished books into bookstores. Marketing your selfpublished book indie author tips.
Include hotlinks in the back matter of each of your selfpublished ebooks to promote additional book sales. From many years agowhen we became the very first book marketing company to secure a fullpage feature story about a selfpublished novel in the new york times, to the everevolving book publicity strategies we continually develop for selfpublished authorswe have earned. But libraries have considerably more staying power. But if you are publishing by yourself and wish to be read by as many among your target audience as possible, you will have to learn an additional skillhow to market your books. Book marketing and promotion provide the most traction for your book, but most selfpublished authors and small independent publishers do not have large budgets to pay for extravagant book marketing campaigns. Apr 24, 2017 donna fasanos books have sold upwards 4 million copies worldwide and have been published in nearly two dozen languages. Dec 25, 2018 you construct a book marketing strategy and forge ahead step by step. How to sell more books on amazon self publishing school. Services like and amazons createspace mean its never been easier to become an author and publish a book. Aug 16, 2018 well help you learn how to market a selfpublished book with these basic tips. Book marketing for authors self publishing through amazon and other retailers is a businessfinance selfhelp book written by alinka rutkowska. To do this, you will need to submit a pdf file of your book to amazons.
This was just a few short years after my husband and iboth traditionally published authorsdecided to selfpublish a set of christianthemed board. Mar 07, 2020 find out more about marketing and promotion for your self published book in this live video broadcast. How to promote your book selfpublishing made easy 2 kindle edition by. Even before you publish your book, you need to think about how you will sell it. But without marketing your book, no one beyond your friends and family will read it. Marketing your selfpublished book bear pond books of. Self publishing a book on amazon is perhaps the easiest way to publish your work as an indie author. Scott allan is a student success coach and inhouse content creator here at selfpublishing school. For a selfpublished author, marketing the book can be more important than writing it. To put things into context first, here is one clear way of thinking about how to promote a selfpublished book. Marketing a book is supposed to be the hardest part of selfpublishing.
Marketing your selfpublished book involves a lot of focused work, typically as much work as it took to write the book in the first place. For a self published author, marketing the book can be more important than writing it. Author and publisher michael wiese has been writing and marketing books successfully for over three decades. Well help you learn how to market a selfpublished book with these basic tips. Book marketing strategies and ideas for selfpublished authors. Scott has a passion for teaching strategic life skills and inspiring people to take charge of their lives. What does it take to promote your selfpublished book. Invest in proper editing im not going to spend a lot of time on this one except to say that everything is your resume. Learn how to publish books that sell when you subscribe to this channel at. Book promotion is designed to get people to find your book, and not, to find people to get your book. Book marketing strategies and ideas for self published authors. The first step to ensure a great marketing plan is by writing a great book. Book marketing consultant tim grahl defines your platform as whatever plan and methods you use to connect with readers and sell books.
Listed below are some book marketing ideas and strategies that you should take into consideration while marketing your selfpublished book on your own, 1. We have to do things right and set our efforts up for long term sales. There is a company in the list above that needs a special mention. A good book cover sells, a great book cover sells better, and a smart author knows thats a big step in how to market a selfpublished book the right way. Boost your books success and sell more copies of your book by following 20 marketing tips and tactics for selfpublishing authors. Most books, even good ones, will languish, invisible among millions of available titles, unless you do something to make them stand out and become visible discoverable to some target audience. For selfpublished books, some or all of the traditional book marketing functions may be made available from a selfpublishing service or from other book publishing consultants at a cost. Instead of trying to sell your book to faceless thousands, find one person who needs and wants your book. Here are a few key elements for a good book marketing strategy.
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