Book Marketing - 101

One of the biggest shocks to most authors is the realization that they are expected to promote their own books - publishers do not do it anymore. Today the chances of becoming a famous author are very limited. However, it is not impossible.

First, don't waste your money with local book signings. Yes, they are great if you can get in - free. But, they are a waste if you need to spend money, unless you use the opportunity as a promotional tool.

I teach the editors and authors at Enspiren Press to never use an event to sell books. Each event should be a stepping stone, a promotional tool. Write down funny stories, take lots of pictures, take pictures with people, anything that can be used to write a human interest story. Also, use the event to add a twist that will attract the newspaper. One common one is offering to donate a percentage of proceeds to charity.

This will turn your marketing event into a book signing, newspaper article, a few web articles, and content to post on all of your web lenses, websites, and blogs.

Once you have an idea of what you need to do, you need to figure out a way to finance it. The most common method of financing a book is through a small loan, or credit cards. Sometimes using a credit card consolidation loan will free up enough money to start promoting - cheaper than a small loan.

Buying author copies will release about $5 - 7 per book profit. When the publisher sells 100 copies of your book, you earn .40cents. When you sell 100 copies of your book, you earn $500 - $700.

If you take a look at famous authors, such as Grisham, you'll learn that they sold copies of their book to finance their writing career. Just don't invest tens of thousands of dollars into your campaign until you learn the tricks.