Penn - How to market a book : for authors by an author

How to Market a Book:

For Authors by an Author

(First Edition)

Joanna Penn

Copyright Joanna Penn (2013). All rights reserved.

Publisher: The Creative Penn Limited

http://www.TheCreativePenn.com

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Joanna Penn's How to Market a Book is the most up to date, personable guide to modern book marketing I know. Packed with tips from the charming and well-informed Penn, it's an essential guide for indie authors who want to keep up with the ever-shifting world of book marketing.

Joel Friedlander, TheBookDesigner.com, A Self-Publisher's Companion

" Joanna Penn has an intuitive understanding of how marketing works and how that pertains to the unique challenge of reaching readers and selling books. Her advice is always practical, actionable, and - most importantly of all - effective."

David Gaughran, author, Let's Get Digital and Let's Get Visible.

There are thousands of books about how to sell books but this is one of the few written by someone who walks the talk. A bestselling author herself, who has shared every step of her publishing journey with empathy and generosity, Penn is an inspiration to multitudes of writers. Whether you're an indie, trade published or hybrid author, whether you are just starting out or have already sold widely, whether you love marketing or hate it, you will learn from this book.

Orna Ross, Author and Director, Alliance of Independent Authors.

"Right now, self-publishing is a wide open opportunity for writers. But it's a confusing and increasingly competitive field. Joanna Penn is one of the guides I rely on to help me navigate the maze, make better marketing decisions, and sell more books. If you read this book, she'll do the same for you."

Mark McGuinness, Coach and author of Resilience: Facing Down Rejection and Criticism on the Road to Success

"This is the most helpful guide to book marketing I have come across. Blunt, bold and full of practical tips, it should be every self-publicist's bible."

Polly Courtney, Bestselling author, media expert and freelance consultant

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Please note: There is extra material accessible from this ebook via hyperlinks. The sites linked to are more easily viewed on the Kindle apps for desktop/tablets or Kindle Fire than on the other Kindle devices. Of course, you can read the book without clicking the hyperlinks, but the online links provide a richer experience and take your knowledge further.

Introduction

Writing for the sake of writing is absolutely brilliant, but many of us have ambitions to see our books in the hands (and devices) of millions. We want our words to touch people's minds and change their lives, even for a short while.

But this is a world of increasing competition for people's attention. Amongst a million TV channels, games, competing books and other demands on people's time, how are you meant to make an impact?

The first job of an author is, of course, to write great books, but these days, their second job is to market them.

It's become the norm for authors to be responsible for a lot of the marketing of their books, whether they have a traditional publishing contract, or are self-publishing. Its particularly relevant if youre a new author with no backlist and no established audience. But marketing isn't a skill that most authors have naturally, and there is little formal training.

But when your book hits the shelves, and the sales don't start rolling in, there's only one thing for an author to do. Keep writing more books and ...

Get to grips with marketing.

I know the very word can be off-putting, but marketing is not about shrieking buy my book, buy my book crazily on social media. It's not about scams, unethical practices or treating people badly.

Marketing is about sharing what you love with people who truly value hearing about it.

This guide is for authors who want to sell more books, but it's also for those writers who want to think more like an entrepreneur. It's for traditionally published authors who want to take control of their future, and for self-published authors who want to jumpstart a career. There are some short-term tactics for those who want to kick up immediate sales, but the focus of the book is more about instilling values and marketing principles that will help your long-term career as a writer.

It's also about going beyond just the book, because the methods in this guide can take you from being an author into professional speaking, making money from other products and creating opportunities that you can't even imagine yet.

There are no rules in this game, but learning this kind of authentic marketing has certainly changed my life, so read on and I'll share everything I know with you.

How To Use The Book

The book is structured into parts, and can be read in order, or you can dip into the chapter you are most interested in straight away.

Part 1: Marketing Principles gives you an overview of some of the important prerequisites and precursors to marketing. You need to tackle some big questions before you jump into marketing, and the decisions you make here will help guide your marketing plans.

Part 2: Your Book Fundamentals. People find your book in two ways, either through a distributor like Amazon, or through you and your marketing efforts. In this section, I go into all the ways you can optimize the book itself, as well as the title, sales description and more. If you don't get the fundamentals right, then even if you do a huge marketing campaign, no one will buy your book. And in fact, if you ONLY do the things in this part, you'll be streets ahead of other people. You may not think this is marketing, but if you leap into social media without getting this right, you'll be wasting your time.

Part 3: No Platform Needed. This section is for when you suddenly have a book out but you haven't spent any time building a platform, so you need some quick ways to get the book moving. You can also use it to bump up sales along with your other tactics.

Part 4: Your Platform. This is all about long-term marketing, building a brand and a platform for your books and your business. The strategies and tactics outlined here are all relevant to small businesses as well, so you can use them to grow your speaking career, or to sell products or anything else from your site. I want to expand your possibilities!

Part 5: Launching your book . Launching a book is different in a digital age as there is no limited shelf space anymore, but in this section, I'll explain some strategies you can use to get the sales moving.

In terms of marketing fiction vs. non-fiction books, there are some techniques that would be better for one rather than the other. I will mention within each chapter when these distinctions become relevant. But in general, you should consider everything in this guide as a possibility for your marketing efforts. Saying that, though, don't get overwhelmed!

Just start with one thing and see how it works for a specific length of time, rather than attempting everything at once with a scattergun approach.

This is also not an exhaustive list of what you can do for marketing. It is just my take on a vast subject based on my experience, so I have included links to more resources within the text for you to take your study further if you want to. There will always be new and shiny tools to play with, but I have included the principles and fundamentals to help you navigate into the future.

In each section, consider how you want to use the information. Do you want or need to put it into practice and how can that impact your book sales both now and into the future?