Patricia Fry - Promote Your Book: Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author

PROMOTE

YOUR

BOOK

Other Books by Patricia Fry

Writing and Publishing Books

Publish Your Book: Proven Strategies and Resources for
Enterprising Authors

How to Writeca Successful Book Proposal in 8 Days or
Less

The Successful Authors Handbook (e-book)

The Successful Writers Handbook

The Authors Repair Kit: Heal Your Publishing Mistakes
and Breathe New Life Into Your Book (e-book)

A Writers Guide to Magazine Articles

Books Just For Fun

Catscapades: True Cat Tales

Quest For Truth: A Journey of the Soul (a memoir)

PROMOTE

YOUR

BOOK

Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips
and Techniques for the Enterprising Author

PATRICIA FRY

ALLWORTH PRESS
NEW YORK

2011 by Patricia Fry

All rights reserved. Copyright under Berne Copyright Convention, Universal Copyright Convention, and Pan American Copyright Convention. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Allworth Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Allworth Press books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Allworth Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or .

15 14 13 12 11 5 4 3 2 1

Published by Allworth Press,
an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Allworth Press is a registered trademark of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a
Delaware corporation.

www.allworth.com

ISBN: 978-1-58115-857-1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Fry, Patricia L., 1940
Promote your book : over 250 proven, low-cost tips and techniques for the
enterprising author / Patricia Fry.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-58115-857-1 (pbk.)
1. BooksUnited StatesMarketing. 2. AuthorshipMarketing. I. Title.
Z285.6.F79 2011
002.0688dc23

2011016521

Printed in the United States of America.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER FOUR: PROMOTE YOUR BOOK WITHOUT
CHANGING YOUR LIFESTYLE

Use News Releases to Reach Niche Magazine and
Newsletter Editors

How to Keep a Larger Percentage from Online
Book Sales

FOREWORD

Most of us, when we decide to write our first book, expect a best seller or at least one that will attract thousands upon thousands of readers on merit alone. You might envision yourself being greeted by enormous crowds at book signings throughout the country and being interviewed by this nations top TV show hosts. You dream of launching the book and, within a few months, when sales are in the millions, stepping out of the limelight and going to work writing your next book.

What youll soon discover is that, in order to sell even a few copies of your book, youll have to pay at least as much attention to promoting it as you did to writing it. If you want sales to continue beyond those initial ones to family, friends, and folks who read the nice article about you in the local newspaper, you will have to keep up your promotional efforts. If you want to reach potential buyers in a wide range of arenas, you may have to market outside of your comfort zone. Any author will tell you that successful marketing takes creativity and an enterprising outlook. And this is true whether you land a traditional royalty publisher, you self-publish (establish your own publishing company), or you decide to go with one of the many hybrid pay-to-publish (vanity) services.

I have over thirty-five years experience marketing my own self-published and traditionally published books. I consult with clients on issues of book promotion. I teach an online book promotion course. And I write a monthly newsletter that focuses on book promotion for the member area of the SPAWN website. Consequently, I continue to engage in an enormous amount of research related to book promotion. In addition, through my affiliation with SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) and my participation in numerous writers conferences, Ive come to know many authors, and some of them have shared their marketing tips with me. This book is a compilation of mostly low- and no-cost book promotion ideas.

The best way to use this book is to read it from cover to coverget a clear sense of what the process of book promotion entails and the multitude of options at your disposal. Then go back and choose those activities that resonate with youthat make sense in light of your energy, time element, skills, talents, strengths, interests, comfort level, and the topic/genre of your book.

Create an ABC list of book promotion activities. Choose those that you can most effectively weave into your own book promotion program. And then start stretching.

Maybe your A list consists of building a website, creating a blog, and promoting your book online through social media sites and through a few news release services. Once youve pursued these activities for a while, add some from your B list. Now, perhaps youre ready to start submitting articles/stories to magazines and newsletters, soliciting book reviews, and approaching the library market and a variety of specialty markets related to your books genre/theme. This may also be a good time to amp up your blog and social media presence through the various available programs and options.

Once you have a good flow going with these activities, get really adventurous and move on to your C list. This might include giving live presentations, having a book trailer made, and doing podcasts.

By trial and error, youll learn what works and what doesnt. If you do well at book festivals, sign up for more of them. Maybe youre selling a lot of books when you give live presentations. Consider applying for these opportunities all throughout the states. If youre becoming known as an expert in your field, begin a consulting service and add credibility to your repertoire by launching a newsletter related to your topic or genre.

Keep this book handy. Youll need it now and for the long term, for successful book promotion is not a one-time event. It is ongoing for as long as you want your book to sell.

Book Promotion Basics

T he glorious moment has arrived. Youve just completed your first (or twenty-first) book. It doesnt matter how many books have gone before this one, theyre each your masterworka thrilling accomplishment.

Creating a book is not unlike creating life. The author conceives the idea, grows it inside of him/herself, and, after many months of labor, gives birth. If you doubt your emotional connection to your book, think about how difficult it was to send your child off to the publisher or printer. If youre like many authors, you experienced a strange sense of loss as you relinquished temporary control of your project. And you couldnt wait to hold the finished book in your hands.

Before welcoming your completed book homein fact, even before writing ityou need to think about its future. The point of producing a book is presumably so that it will be read. At the very least, you hope to recoup your expenses. And you would not be human if you didnt dream of it bringing you fame and fortune. This wont happen, however, without your concentrated effort. Its up to you to promote your book. And the time to plan your marketing strategy is even prior to writing your first chapter.