Promoting and Selling Your Book

Promoting and Selling Your Book

Successfully promoting books—whether traditionally published or self-published—comes down to the author. The author is the most knowledgeable and the most invested. No one else can be expected to sell your book; they can only be enlisted to provide sales channels and opportunities. Authors must learn to tell their story in a compelling way that motivates others to buy their book. And it takes time to get the word out on a new title.

You should be prepared to spend some time every day—for at least one to two years—establishing sales channels and making contacts to sell your books. You’ll spend valuable time writing your book and will have invested money to get it properly edited and into print or digital formats. The last leg of the journey is just as important and the reason to publish in the first place: to connect with readers. Just as a business owner creates a marketing plan and budgets for it, authorpreneurs will need to do the same. Whether or not you’ve had experience in promoting or selling before, you will shoulder the responsibility of developing a marketing program and selling books.

There are some writers who would prefer to hole up in their writing caves rather than sell books or make public appearances, while others relish the idea of busting out of the cave to meet readers. Savvy self-publishers will create Book Plans that embrace both personal appearances and online marketing. Whatever camp you fall into, it is a requirement of the job to develop a way to sell books that works for your personal style. It can be liberating to simply think of sales and marketing as an extension of the creative process—and it will certainly make it more fun.

Making a commitment to your marketing plan and working your plan every day is the only way you’ll develop the channels necessary to connect to readers. Consistency and persistence will pay off. As you begin to influence individuals through word-of-mouth and through internet communications, you will be energized to keep the momentum going. Each positive response will fuel the next action. Each success will breed more success.

Selling is a Contact Sport

If selling comes down to one thing, it’s about creating relationships. Most of our lives are spent in a series of interactions each day and your success will depend on how you approach the many opportunities that turn up. The way we present ourselves—whether to our partners, family, neighbors, coworkers, or someone in line at the store—can be tools with which to subtly shift events and engage in dialogue. Start to think of these interactions as a series of presentations and you can begin conveying your message as a natural part of your daily conversation. The key is to be prepared before the occasion arises.

Whether you call it a pitch or an elevator speech, the basic tool in your marketing toolbox should be a short, prepared presentation that grabs attention and says a lot in a few words. To start your pitch, try telling your listener what your book would offer them. What benefit would they get out of reading your book? What makes your story unique? By conveying your core points quickly, you can market your book in a condensed, entertaining way so that others will want to know more about it. Crafting your pitch ahead of time will come in handy when you attend events, conferences, or any other meetings with networking opportunities. One of the first questions people usually ask is, “And, what do you do?” That’s your cue to polish your speech so that it becomes second nature.

Experts and book marketers exhort authors to relentlessly promote themselves and their books. While this may be good advice, the idea may repel creative types who resist the crassness of always feeling on the make. The overwhelming barrage of information and sales pitches we receive each day is enough to turn anybody off! If you divide your marketing plan into manageable steps of action, it will help allay the sense of dread many authors feel when faced with selling their own books. The following descriptions lay out a variety of sales and marketing ideas you can consider incorporating into your marketing plan, and will help you plan, prioritize, and time your actions most effectively.         

Marketing and PR: Old School and New School

As Internet tools mature and more users make purchases and research products online, it only makes sense to build a strong online presence as an author. If selling is a contact sport, self-publishers will have to show up in-person at some point to represent themselves. Online marketing can be fast, inexpensive, and far-reaching, but potential readers and fans are also found in libraries, bookstores, trade shows, conferences, out in the street, and in living rooms. Be sure to create a sales plan that includes as many ways to sell as possible. You’ll tend to gravitate to methods that reflect your personality and skills set, so be sure you learn to bridge both worlds even if it means taking computer classes or public speaking workshops.

Selling through Distributors, Wholesalers, and Retailers

Obtaining a national distribution company or wholesaler may seem an obvious choice as one of the first sales relationships a publisher might pursue. As a self-publisher, however, it’s probably not an efficient use of your time or marketing dollars to try selling your book to bricks-and-mortar bookstores. This distribution channel is a tough nut to crack, dominated by deeply entrenched book distributors, wholesalers, and big publishers. While it’s possible that your book may be special-ordered by these stores, and you might build some sell-through there by word-of-mouth, it’s better to focus your attention toward online selling and back-of-the-room sales. That said, if you have friendly local booksellers who are willing to invite you to do a book talk or reading at their store, then definitely start there.  

An explanation of the different roles of retailer, wholesaler, and distributor may help sort out any confusion on this topic. Retailers (such as your local bookstore) purchase books from wholesalers and distributors, and then sell the books to consumers—John and Jane Doe—who are their customers. Wholesalers are a source for these retailers that order books. The wholesaler most likely has a website and a print catalog of titles for stores to order from, but other than these listings of titles and ISBNs and warehouses to store books, not much else. Wholesalers simply ship books when orders come in. Distributors, however, not only function as a source for retailers that order books, but they also supply major wholesalers. And like wholesalers, they warehouse books from the publishers and fill orders. Distributors also provide sales reps that call on national accounts and independent stores, and they provide detailed sales reports and analyses.

Publishers pay more for the additional sales and marketing services of a distributor, but most distributors won’t agree to sell a single title—and reps that call on independent stores are becoming more and more rare in this declining market. There are new consortiums of small and independent presses banding together to gain representation and momentum in this mainstream channel, however. So, although this sales channel is closed to most self-publishers, it’s not completely out of the question.

The Independent Book Publishers Association helps members get their books into traditional and emerging trade channels, and is a good place to look for more information. Just be aware that titles with ISBN prefixes from self-publishing POD companies may not qualify for this type of distribution. In addition, most distributors require “exclusivity,” meaning self-publishers may not pursue selling into book accounts independently (including Amazon.com), but must relinquish most markets solely to the distributor. Self-publishers should read the terms of any contract carefully before signing.

Establishing Your Book Online

Getting your book listed online is arguably the most important selling tool for self-published authors. Any publisher with a registered ISBN can list books for sale on the top three book search engines: Amazon.com, B&N.com and Google Book Search. Your book will be immediately available to millions of users who search these services regularly. If you have your book published through a POD company, they will usually offer this service as part of your package. If you supply your own graphics files and go through a POD publisher service, you may have to upload your book information on our own, or at least double-check your listings by editing or adding information where necessary. Don’t expect PODs to do it right the first time. Most people with a computer and high-speed internet will be able to easily access and follow each vendor’s consignment program rules and instructions. 

See Inside This Book

Amazon.com, Google Books, and B&N.com offer potential readers the option to see inside your book, using various trade names such as “Look Inside,” “See Inside,” etc. This function allows users to preview a variety of pages in your book before buying it. Usually the cover, table of contents, copyright page, and the first few pages are displayed for reader review using simple navigation tools. You’ll have to give permission to have your book entered into these programs. Sellers maintain that these “sneak peeks” increase sales by providing customers the satisfaction of previewing before they buy. And don’t forget to ask readers and fans to post their thoughts and reactions to your book as starred reviews on these sites once they buy and read your work.

Summing Up

In the process of introducing your book to the public and building your platform, you will add to your knowledge and improve your skills. Helpers will come to your aid and you’ll meet new people who will fuel your imagination. Your original vision will be a powerful source to tap into to achieve your dreams, so keep it close and remind yourself of it often.

Launching your book is just the beginning of your new identity as authorpreneur. The risks and rewards are an important part of the journey as you face the many challenges of self-publishing. Hopefully, the publishing process will bring you into a satisfying dialogue with readers who want what you have to offer. Presenting your work will enlarge your world and will be a stepping-stone to new opportunities in your career.

Just remember why you have chosen to embrace the creative life of author and self-publisher. Ultimately no author works alone. You are now part of a community of publishing professionals and readers—and any success you achieve will be a result of providing benefits to your community.

I’ll write more about promoting your books in my next post….Stay tuned!

If you’re not sure if your book is a good idea, or you don’t have a clear plan, download my FREE GUIDE. 

If you want guidance and help creating a plan, schedule a FREE DISCOVERY CALL with me to see how I can help. 

Plan for Success!

 Lindsay